Indonesia hosts world forwarders' congress
The Indonesian Forwarders Association (INFA) will host the 41st annual congress of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders, which will be held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3.
The organizing committee said over the weekend that it remained optimistic that between 1,200 and 1,500 participants would take part in the congress, despite worldwide travel concerns resulting from the outbreak of the deadly flu-like ailment Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in several Asian countries.
"We are optimistic that SARS will not discourage the already registered participants from joining the congress. Indonesia is not included in the list of SARS-affected countries," said Ika Nazaruddin, the public relations manager of Pacto Convex, the organizer of the congress.
Ika also said that they were confident that the worldwide travel advisories resulting from the deadly bombing on Bali last year would not affect the congress.
The organizing committee has been rigorous about implementing various security and safety measures to ensure that the congress and the exhibition, which is to be held as part of the annual meeting, would run smoothly.
In addition to the presence of the Indonesian Military, security authorities have deployed more than 5,000 police officers to Bali.
"A double-fold security is expected, since heads of states and governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will have their annual summit with their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea alongside the world forwarders' congress," she said.
Pacto Convex said that additional safety and security measures were also being imposed by the management of the hotel and tourism industry, involving the Balinese community at large.
Ika said that a total of 243 international participants had pre-registered for the event. "The largest number of delegates will consist of INFA members, comprising 2,700 companies. Half of the 60 booths available have been sold," she added.
The international forwarders federation, which is more widely known by its French acronym FIATA, held its 40th annual congress in Istanbul, Turkey, and has 85 active member countries representing about 40,000 forwarding companies around the world.
Ika said that the congress, themed "Role of Forwarders in Logistics and Supply Chains", would provide an opportunity for local and foreign forwarding companies to seek out partners that excel in logistics and supply chain management.
She said foreign participants, particularly from Europe, the United States and Japan, will also have an opportunity to find partners in developing Asian countries.
Asian companies have enhanced their logistics and supply chain performance faster than any other, thanks to the region's rapid liberalization program.
ASEAN has introduced free trade among its member countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, since the beginning of 2002, bringing together a market of more than half a billion people.
A free trade agreement with China is being negotiated among ASEAN member countries to develop the largest free trade area in the world within the next 10 years. -- JP