Establishing a factory by involving local resources and local wisdom is the most tangible form of bilateral cooperation. Today, we are witnessing a manifestation of good concerns and thoughts between the two countriesJakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian garment company and South African micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are cooperating to establish a textile joint venture company, Pan Africa.
"Establishing a factory by involving local resources and local wisdom is the most tangible form of bilateral cooperation. Today, we are witnessing a manifestation of good concerns and thoughts between the two countries," according to Indonesian Ambassador to South Africa, Salman Al Farisi, as noted in a statement issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria and received here, Monday.
"With emphasis on empowering small businesses and women, in my opinion, this kind of partnership model is doable to work on in a non-traditional market, such as Africa," Ambassador Al Farisi stated during the launch and inauguration event of the Indonesia-South Africa partnership company, Pan Africa, in the heart of Johannesburg's business and commercial area.
Pan Africa is a joint venture company between Indonesia's leading garment company, Pan Brothers Tbk and South African MSME, Faithfulness.
At the inauguration ceremony of the joint venture company, Ambassador Al Farisi lauded the start of Pan Africa that he deemed as an ideal arrangement of mutually beneficial partnership.
The Indonesian ambassador was accompanied by Head of the Indonesia Trade Promotion Center in Johannesburg, Anggun Paramita Mahdi, and Director of Faithfulness, Selina Siganga.
Siganga is the founder and senior managing director of the Faithfulness Business Enterprise that has long been engaged in the consulting business for commodity suppliers.
In its operations, Pan Africa will import semi-finished personal protective equipment (PPE) garments from Indonesia and then finalize the processing at the Johannesburg factory.
On the same occasion, the head of ITPC Johannesburg expressed belief that the success of the establishment of this company can serve as a precedent and pilot project for other Indonesian products, especially PPE, to enter and be accepted by the South African market.
Meanwhile, Deputy Managing Director of Pan Brothers Indonesia, Anne Patricia Sutanto, in her online remarks expressed gratitude for the assistance and support from the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria and ITPC Johannesburg during the initial process of establishing Pan Africa.
Sutanto was also optimistic that the opening of the Pan Africa factory would be the start of deeper cooperation in future.
Inauguration of the Pan Africa operations was viewed as being a positive achievement by the Indonesian representatives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria remains committed to maintaining economic diplomacy, including through business-to-business facilitation.
In 2021, the Indonesian Embassy in Pretoria will continue to work on new agreements between Indonesia and South Africa, ranging from the visa-free regime to socio-cultural diplomacy.
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Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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