Kadin and Indonesian Ambassador Discuss Indonesia-Swiss Economic Cooperation Ahead of Geneva Visit
JAKARTA - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) received a courtesy visit from Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland I Ngurah Swajaya. The meeting was held to discuss strengthening relations and strategic economic cooperation between Indonesia and Switzerland. Kadin Indonesia Chairperson Anindya Novyan Bakrie expressed his appreciation for the presence of the Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland, who came directly to plan concrete steps for cooperation. The audience was also held as a form of preparation ahead of Kadin Indonesia’s working visit to Geneva, Switzerland, scheduled for August.
On the occasion, Anindya highlighted Switzerland’s strengths, which are not only recognised as a major power in global finance but are also internationally acknowledged in technology and branding. These strengths are considered highly potential as a reference and momentum for Indonesia in strengthening economic partnership between the two countries. “We discussed earlier to prepare for the visit next month, in August, to Geneva. One thing I learned from the Ambassador and Mr Francis (Chair of the Bilateral Committee for Switzerland and Liechtenstein at Kadin Indonesia, Francis Wanandi) is that Switzerland is not only a major country in finance, but from a technology and branding perspective it is highly recognised,” said Anindya.
Anindya also reminded that Indonesia and Switzerland already have their own Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which has been in effect for about four years. The existence of this FTA provides a strong legal and economic foundation to continue optimising bilateral trade and investment value. To date, bilateral trade relations show a positive trend, with a surplus on the Indonesian side of approximately 2.5 billion US dollars per year. This record demonstrates the immense potential of Indonesian commodities and products in the Swiss market and surrounding region.
In the discussion preparing for the Geneva visit, Anindya revealed that the first focus relates to efforts to modernise Indonesia’s trade sector, one of which is through the idea of establishing a Trading Academy to learn from Switzerland’s capabilities in the global trading sector. The second focus discussed includes the logistics sector, where this cooperation is expected to encourage new investment into Indonesia. This investment is targeted to strengthen infrastructure, as well as the shipping and port management industry in the country. Anindya also recalled his meeting with the Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland early last year after attending the World Economic Forum (WEF). At that time, they visited an association of medium-sized industrial companies in Switzerland. “Of course, medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland are very significant for us. So, on behalf of Kadin, I express my gratitude and feel there is so much that can be achieved between the two countries,” said Anindya.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland I Ngurah Swajaya welcomed and appreciated Kadin Indonesia’s swift response in moving bilateral economic cooperation forward. According to him, trade between the two countries continues to show an improving trend, making Indonesia one of the main investment destinations for Switzerland. Ngurah Swajaya specifically emphasised the importance of attracting investment from high-tech, innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Switzerland that focus on low-carbon efficiency. These future-oriented investments are considered very much in line with the direction of green economy development in Indonesia. “So in terms of trade, our trade is always increasing. In terms of investment, Indonesia is one of the destinations. I reported to the Chairperson that we also need to pay attention to investment by small and medium enterprises in Switzerland, but technology-based,” explained Ngurah Swajaya.
Regarding Geneva as one of the world’s largest global commodity trading hubs, Ngurah Swajaya stated that Kadin’s planned meeting there would be very strategic. The discussions will not only focus on increasing commodity export volumes but will also encompass education to strengthen Indonesia’s human resource capacity in global commodity trading. “He is willing to meet them later in Geneva and talk about not only how to increase our commodity exports, but also how to improve through education to become more capable in the context of global trading and the hub for various types of commodities,” said Ngurah Swajaya. This cooperation momentum feels especially special as it coincides with the celebration of 75 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Switzerland. As part of this commemoration, a cooperation agreement was previously signed in the field of mineral processing and downstreaming between the Swiss Federal Minister of Economics and the Indonesian Minister of Investment to increase the added value of Indonesia’s mining commodities. “This is related to downstreaming, increasing the added value of our mining commodities,” said Ngurah Swajaya. In line with this, Chair of the Bilateral Committee for Switzerland and Liechtenstein at Kadin Indonesia, Francis Wanandi, thanked the Kadin Chairperson for his great attention to Switzerland. He hopes the close cooperation can provide significant added value and encourage the active role of the private sector in growing national industries.