Ministers to welcome rally racers to Batam

Fadli, The Jakarta Post/Batam

Ministers and ambassadors will greet the participants of a three- week-long car rally between India and ASEAN countries, which culminates on Saturday in Batam, Riau Islands.

Ten ambassadors to Indonesia from various Southeast Asian countries, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda and Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Watjik are expected to be present at the finish line.

Acting governor of Riau Islands Ismeth Abdullah, said on Tuesday that the rally would wind up outside the provincial administration office in downtown Batam.

The event would be of great importance to Batam, introducing it to the world as a tourist destination, said Ismeth.

Some 250 racers, including 12 Indonesians, are participating in the 8,000-kilometer rally, which kicked off on Nov. 22 in Guwahati, India.

The rally passed through Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Racers were warned to dodge armed separatists, heroin traffickers, diseases and malaria mosquitoes in the first India- ASEAN car rally.

Most of the jeeps and four-wheel-drive vehicles being used in the rally were made by private Indian automakers Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra.

The rally is aimed at enhancing trade, investment, tourism, and people-to-people links between India and ASEAN, demonstrating India-ASEAN proximity and road connectivity, and promoting infrastructure development, especially in road transport.

Ismeth said that his administration would host a dinner following the completion of the rally, which would also serve to promote investment in the province.