Indonesia hosts world forwarders' congress

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