Indonesia opens trade office in Moscow

Indonesia opens trade office in Moscow

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has opened a trade office in Russia with the aim of promoting trade relations between the two countries, an official said yesterday.

"The office, called Indonesia House, provides information and consulting services for Indonesian companies interested in doing businesses in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States," the head of the National Agency for Export Development, Rudy Lengkong, told reporters.

The office also provides similar services for Russian firms interested in trading with or doing businesses in Indonesia, he added.

He said the establishment of the office had been initiated by Indonesian business leaders, including Hasyim Djojohadikusumo and Pontjo Sutowo.

Russia gives special treatment to Indonesian products by imposing tariff rates lower than those imposed on products from other countries, Rudy said.

Some Indonesian companies plan to open representative offices in Moscow, he said, adding that company plans to set up a star- rated 600-room hotel in the Russian capital.

Lengkong also said that Indonesian firms who had participated in an international trade exhibition in Moscow between Jan. 17 and Jan. 26, had won contracts worth US$4.89 million.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Indonesia's exports to Russia during the first nine months of 1994 fell to $57.74 million from $68.31 million during the same period of 1993, while its imports from that country almost doubled to $135.32 million from $69.42 million.(fhp)