'30 Minutes with a Friend' looks to boost foreign trade

JAKARTA (JP): PT Cipta Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI) in cooperation with PT Pentas Berlian Bersama celebrated on Wednesday the launch of a new talkshow program called 30 Minutes with a Friend, aiming at boosting Indonesia's foreign trade.

The marketing director of the privately-owned television station, Dewi Fadjar, told journalists the English program will feature dialogs with foreign ambassadors concerning business opportunities in Indonesia and their respective countries. "It will be aired every Tuesday from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.," she said.

She said that 13 ambassadors from Austria, Bangladesh, Britain, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, India, Marocco, Mexico, Slovak, Switzerland and Thailand, had confirmed their participation in the weekly talk show.

The first guest taking part in the premiere on Tuesday, June 20 was Finland's Ambassador Hannu Himanen.

PT Pentas Berlian Bersama's Chief Commissioner, Herman Tampubolon, said that each interview on the program is expected to generate about 15 new businesses.

"We hope in a year the program will create around 780 new businesses with an expected total investment of US$780 million," Herman said, noting that the program is not solely for business as it will also help the television audience, especially students, to become more knowledgeable about international economics. (bnt)