Indonesia to develop trade with Tunisia

Indonesia to develop trade with Tunisia

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia seeks to increase bilateral trade with
Tunisia by developing a more direct trade link, an executive of
the Islamic Conference Committee at the Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry says.

The committee's executive chairman Muchrim Hakim said
yesterday trade relations between the two countries had not been
optimal, mainly because of the lack of direct marine and air
transport service.

"So far, trade between the two countries has to go through a
third country such as Singapore or France, because of the lack of
a direct transportation link," Muchrim said.

As a result, businesses from both Indonesia and Tunisia were
hesitant to expand their exports to each other, because of extra
transportation costs and limited funds, he said.

However, Muchrim said exporters from both countries could get
international aid to expand trade links, for example, by using
trade facilities offered by the Islamic Development Bank.

The facilities included the Import Trade Finance Operation for
imports and the Long-Term Trade Finance Scheme for exports, he
said.

Muchrim said that Tunisia, like other Islamic countries, was a
good market for Indonesian products.

"We are facing tough competition against products from
northern countries such as China, and we must emerge in markets
of developing countries," he said.

"These countries are easier to enter, as they do not impose
strict political and human rights requirements, protection or tax
barriers to our products like developed countries, such as the
United States or European countries," he said.

The first secretary of the Tunisian Embassy in Indonesia,
Borhene El Kamel, said yesterday that Tunisia, located in the
northern part of Africa, was also a perfect gateway for entering
other markets in neighboring countries or the European market.

The country had agreed to develop a free trade zone with the
European Union for industrial products by 2008, he said.

But businesses from both countries also lacked knowledge about
each other's economies, he said.

To establish a stronger network between the two countries, 39
business delegates representing 27 Tunisian companies planned a
two-day visit here to meet with local businesspeople.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with the committee and
local businesspeople here tomorrow and to attend the National
Merchandise and Commodity Expo the next day.

Data from the Tunisian Export Promotion Center shows two-way
trade between the two countries declined last year to 26.06
million Tunisian dinars (US$26 million) from 27.62 million dinars
in 1995.

The decline was caused by a drop in Tunisian exports to
Indonesia to 14.48 million dinars last year from 17.84 million
dinars in 1995.

Indonesian exports to Tunisia rose to 11.57 million dinars
last year from 9.77 million dinars in 1995, or only 0.2 percent
of Tunisia's total imports.

Indonesia mainly exports palm oil, furniture, polyester yarn
and synthetic textiles, while Tunisia exports phosphate and
fertilizer to Indonesia. (das)