Forum on Canada-RI trade

Forum on Canada-RI trade

JAKARTA (JP): A "Canada-Indonesia Business Forum" will be organized here on Jan. 17 to bring together over 600 senior business executives from both countries.

The Canadian embassy announced here yesterday that the business forum will be held as part of the activities associated with the state visit of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

A group of 300 Canadian business leaders, part of a large "Team Canada" delegation, is accompanying the prime minister and several provincial premiers during their visit to Indonesia.

Indonesia is Canada's largest export market in Southeast Asia. Bilateral merchandise trade exceeded C$1.1 billion (about US$808 million) in 1995, excluding several hundreds million dollars in bilateral trade which passes through third countries, according to the embassy.

Canada's total direct investment in Indonesia currently stands at approximately C$6 billion. (hen)