RI, Namibia sign deal

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's Foreign Minister Ali Alatas and his Namibian counterpart Theo-Ben Gurirab signed an economic and technical agreement yesterday to boost bilateral trade.

Alatas said the agreement was the first step in cooperation between the two countries and would be followed by more specific agreements.

"Today, we signed only a basic agreement in order to increase our trade, economic and technical cooperation and partnerships between private businesses from our two countries," he said.

Indonesia does not have established direct trade relations with Namibia so the accord is expected to boost commercial ties.

Indonesian commodities, like textiles, sports shoes, rattan products and food products reached Namibia through South Africa. (12)