Talking with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s correspondent reporter in Jakarta ahead of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s state visit to Indonesia as guest of President Joko Widodo, Shinta said historically, the two countries have very strong bilateral ties, with many operations, especially on the economic side. The Kadin, as an umbrella of businesses in Indonesia, has many times facilitated many business forums as well as delegations coming from the two countries.
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Kadin Vice Chairwoman Shinta Widjaja Kamdani |
Recalling that two-way trade hit a record USD 11.5 billion in 2021, she said actually, the number is still very small compared to the potential that they could have. She expressed belief that the target to reach USD 15 billion in 2028 could be taken.
“There's still so much work to be done in order to optimize the number, especially as far as we're both part of ASEAN. And we've seen many opportunities from both sides, whether Vietnam to Indonesia, or Indonesia to Vietnam”, she said.
“The two leaders have very strong, concrete deliverables that they expect things, they both are action-oriented, so really want to get things done. And we've seen certain sectors of cooperation, which is very good, because we're not going just a general trade, but also how to focus on certain sectors that we can create partnership”.
According to the Chair of B20 Indonesia, Indonesia is a halal hub for the region and can definitely expand to go into the Vietnamese market to meet demand there. The two countries also hold potential of cooperation in fisheries and renewable energy.
“We need to push more into renewable and focus on really delivering on the Net Zero target that also globally, both countries needs to achieve. So the energy transition will encourage more renewable energy sector investment," she said.
She said the two countries’ leaders talked about infrastructure construction. Indonesia has many State-owned enterprises while opportunities in Vietnam are aplenty. Indonesia is still expanding a lot on infrastructure and building up infrastructure all over the country.
In her opinion, digital transformation undergone by the two countries also creates a lot of opportunities. Many of tech start-ups from both countries have been blooming. A lot of start-ups expand and invest in Vietnam, like GoJeck.
“Both nations also have similar demand in terms of consumer base. At the beginning, what's important is creating the awareness. This is why Kadin is facilitating in setting up specific working groups, because we need the B2B to enhance more, not just the big corporation, not just the state owned enterprises, but also companies who are wanting to expand. This is the easiest, because we are neighbors”, she said.
She added that Indonesia has learned from Vietnam how to bring in investors, saying that Vietnam has been very open in terms of leaving red carpet and Indonesia is doing the same thing.
In conclusion, she said the two countries’ businesses have similarities and could develop more by learning and capacity building from each other.
Source: VNA