Growth triangle talks in Batam

JAKARTA (JP): Some 300 executives from the region are expected to take part on Wednesday in a meeting on the industrial island of Batam to promote cooperation in the context of the Indonesia- Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle (IMS-GT).

Participants will come from the three countries as well as from Hong Kong and Brunei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

Minister of Industry and Trade Rahardi Ramelan and State Minister of Investment/chairman of The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Marzuki Usman will be the main speakers.

Governors from West Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra, Lampung and West Kalimantan, and leaders of trade organizations have also been invited to the event.

The meeting at Novotel Hotel is jointly sponsored by the ministry's Directorate General of Foreign Economic Relations and the Batam Island Development Authority.

The agenda is expected to cover business opportunities in trade, banking and tourism in Indonesia, the ministry said.

The IMS-GT is one of several existing growth triangle arrangements among Southeast Asian countries designed to promote closer business cooperation between neighboring territories and provinces within the region.(02)