Ministers to welcome rally racers to Batam

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.