RI, Finland set up council

RI, Finland set up council

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Finland will establish a business council this week to promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, the Finnish embassy said yesterday.

The embassy said in a statement that the new body, to be called the Finland-Indonesia Business Council, would be launched at a ceremony at the Hilton hotel tomorrow which would be attended by Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and Foreign Minister Heikki Haavisto, as well as Indonesian ministers.

The Finnish president is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta tonight for a state visit which will last until Saturday. He will be accompanied by both an official and an industrial delegation during his Indonesian visit.

The embassy said the council would be chaired by Sukanto Tanoto, the president of the Raja Garuda Mas Group of Indonesia.

According to the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, Indonesia's exports to Finland during the first seven months of last year increased by 24 percent to US$13.96 million, from $11.26 million in the same period of 1993, while imports from Finland surged by 44.6 percent to $158.44 million, from $109.54 million.

Finland's investments in Indonesia, according to the Investment Coordinating Board, reached $62.8 million for five industrial projects as of Dec. 15, 1994. (riz)