FIATA to hold world congress in Bali

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA) will hold its World Congress from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 in Bali.

The congress titled "Role of the Forwarders in the Logistics and Supply Chain," was expected to draw up to 1,000 participants from across the world, the Indonesian Forwarders Association (INFA), the organizer, said on Tuesday.

As of the middle of this month, 600 people from 71 countries had confirmed their participation in the congress, while most of the 40 exhibition stands prepared by the organizer at the congress venue had been booked by local and international firms, INFA's chairman Anthon Riyanto said in a statement.

The congress and exhibition will be held at the Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua.

The congress will be officially opened by Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar on Sept. 30.

"The international forum aims to give chances to players, both local and foreign, in transportation, forwarding, logistics and supply chain management industries to interact and build networks," Anthon said.

The forum is also meant to support the government's program of luring foreign tourists back to Indonesia, especially Bali, after a string of terrorist attacks badly hurt travelers' confidence in the country.

FIATA is a large organization with a membership of some 40,000 companies that operate in the transportation, forwarding, logistics and supply chain management fields in 85 countries, and 93 national freight forwarder and logistics associations from 85 countries.

Meanwhile, INFA, which has been a member of FIATA for 23 years, has 2,200 members nationwide. -- JP