Kyongsangnam-do province eyes East Java business

Kyongsangnam-do province eyes East Java business

JAKARTA (JP): East Java and Kyongsangnam-do province of South
Korea have established a sister province relationship in an
effort to promote closer business relations between the two
provinces and their two countries in general.

"The purpose of the sister province relationship is to promote
understanding and friendship at both national and regional
levels," the chief of Kyongsangnam-do's Economy and Trade Bureau,
Chang-Seung Kong, said.

Kong told journalists here yesterday that the agreement was
signed in Surabaya, East Java, by the governors of both
provinces, Basofi Soedirman of East Java and Hyuk-Kyu Kim of
Kyongsangnam-do.

A 25-member business delegation from Kyongsangnam-do, led by
Governor Kim, ended its mission here yesterday.

Kim noted that East Java and Kyongsangnam-do have a number of
similarities. Both provinces, for example, serve as main
producers of rice and main industrial sites in their countries.

In Surabaya, the Kyongsangnam-do delegation attended an
investment forum to sound out the possibility of expanding
business relations between the two provinces by increasing
bilateral trade and investments.

Yesterday the delegation gave a presentation before Indonesian
businesspeople on Kyongsangnam-do province's export capabilities.

According to Indonesia's Central Bureau of Statistics,
bilateral trade between Indonesia and South Korea totaled US$5.3
billion last year, up from $4.6 billion in 1994. Indonesia
enjoyed a trade surplus of $476 million last year and $427
million in 1994. (rid)