RI-Turkey hope to triple trade volume

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Turkey and Indonesia are set to jack up bilateral trade volume threefold to some US$2 billion next year, by strengthening the existing trade in natural-resource products, while also seeking other potentials in the services sector and manufactured goods.

For this, a delegation of 50 Turkish businesspeople from various sectors are conducting a two-day visit to Indonesia starting on Wednesday, to explore business and investment opportunities with their counterparts here.

"The current position of bilateral commercial and economic relations between Turkey and Indonesia does not coincide with the real potential of our economies," Turkish Undersecretary for Foreign Trade, Tuncer Kayalar, said in the opening of a one-on- one business meeting between his country's trade mission and local businesspeople here in Jakarta.

"We therefore attach great importance to this visit, and hope that the meetings to be realized between Turkish and Indonesian counterparts will contribute to efforts to diversify and enhance Turkish exports to the brotherly country of Indonesia."

Two-way trade between Turkey and Indonesia has reached US$594 million during the period from January to September this year, an increase of some 20 percent from the same period last year.

Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $677 million in 2004, up 36 percent from $497 million in 2003.

Of this year's standing trade volume, Indonesian exports to Turkey amounted to $536 million, mostly comprising of crude palm oil, rubber and intermediate textile goods.

Turkey, meanwhile, exported to Indonesia a total of $58 million worth of tobacco, wheat flour, chemicals, textiles, cotton and building materials such as marble and feldspar.

Kayalar pointed out, however, that the figure represented only 0.1 percent of Indonesia's total imports.

"We indeed expect this meeting can pave the way to increase commerce between Indonesia and Turkey, hopefully reaching $2 billion next year," Minister of Industry Andung Nitimihardja said. Also present at the business meeting was Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman M.S. Hidayat.

Andung, however, expected that Turkish businesses would not just export their products to Indonesia, but also invest in the processing and manufacturing of their goods here in the country.

"If possible, we would like it if they also build their factories here," he said. "This way, while they export raw materials here, they can also process them here, increasing the economic benefits for both of us."

Kayalar also mentioned Turkey's interest in expanding its services business in Indonesia, mentioning the country's well- established contracting services that has undertaken $65 billion worth of projects in more than 60 countries.

"Our companies are ready in every aspect to take part in the infrastructure and housing projects our Indonesian brothers are willing to offer," he said.