"Initially, it would be set up in Singapore or Malaysia, but I have requested that (it) should be set up in Bali," Indonesian Ambassador to China Soegeng Rahardjo said.Beijing (ANTARA News) - An ASEAN-China Innovation Center will be set up in Bali to support the New Silk Road and Maritime Belt cooperation, or One-Belt, One-Road (OBOR) program.
"Initially, it would be set up in Singapore or Malaysia, but I have requested that (it) should be set up in Bali," Indonesian Ambassador to China Soegeng Rahardjo stated here, Friday.
Bali will be the right place as this is in line with the vision of Chinese President Xi Jinping who had presented the OBOR concept before the Indonesian Parliament in 2013.
Earlier in the same year, President Jinping unveiled his idea on the OBOR concept in Astana, Kazakhstan.
"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have agreed, so hopefully, the center would be established this year in Bali," Rahardjo, concurrently Indonesian ambassador to Mongalia, noted.
To materialize the plan, ASEAN and China will establish cooperation with the Kura-Kura Foundation that is based in Bali.
The OBOR is a concept of regional connectivity that needs an innovation institution to help support the materialization of the plan.
As one of the largest countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has been viewed as crucial by China for the development of infrastructure through the OBOR program.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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