As a main partner in terms of investment and trade, we hope we can raise our bilateral trade and investment to a higher level than now after the pandemic is brought under control and our economy continues to recover.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has praised the Singapore government for its continued support to Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic.



In a written statement released here on Wednesday, he also lauded the rapidly growing bilateral cooperation between the two neighboring countries during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s term.



Prime Minister Lee has announced Finance Minister Lawrence Wong as his successor. Wong has been elected the leader of the ruling People's Action Party's (PAP’s) fourth-generation (4G) team, paving the way for his appointment as the city-state’s next prime minister.



“As a main partner in terms of investment and trade, we hope we can raise our bilateral trade and investment to a higher level than now after the pandemic is brought under control and our economy continues to recover,” Hartarto said.


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Indonesia has continued to improve the investment climate and conduct reforms, such as the enactment of the job creation law and the adoption of the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, he noted.



Singapore is currently the largest foreign investor in Indonesia.



In 2021, US$9.3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) flowed from Singapore to Indonesia for more than 16,760 projects. Meanwhile, bilateral trade between the two countries touched US$27 billion last year.



Speaking at a session of the Global Governance Group (3G) dialog in Singapore earlier, Hartarto urged 3G members to strengthen efforts to overcome the current global crisis in the food, energy, and finance fields.


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"As one of the six members of the Champion Group of the Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG), Indonesia believes the group will be able to give concrete results and strengthen further cooperation among affected countries in the global crisis response group," he said.



The ongoing issues are also part of the priority agenda of Indonesia's G20 Presidency this year. The relevant G20 working groups will connect their results to GCRG programs, the minister informed.



"We wait for Prime Minister Lee's presence at the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022," he said.

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Translator: Agatha Olivia V, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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