Director general of American and European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Umar Hadi, said that automotive spare parts are among potential export commodities given their considerable market share in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition, Indonesia has very large opportunities to export pharmaceutical and furniture products to Latin America and the Caribbean, he added.
"We hope when business actors meet (at the INA-LAC forum) there will be more productive interactions," Hadi said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.
INA-LAC, which has been held since 2019, is a business forum that seeks to support interactions and dialogues between business actors and potential investors from Indonesia and the Latin America and Caribbean region.
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The forum will include plenary sessions, panel discussions, business networking, business pitching, and business matching.
Hadi said that he is targeting the participation of 100 companies from the Latin American and Caribbean regions at this year's annual forum.
He added that organizing INA-LAC this year is important to expand Indonesia's markets in Latin American countries since next year, the attention of the business world will be focused on the Latin American region when Brazil hosts the G20 Summit.
Another country in Latin America, Peru, will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum next year.
Deputy chairperson for maritime, investment, and foreign affairs coordination at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sinta W. Kamdani, said that the Latin American and Caribbean region has a very large market potential.
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Indonesia cannot just rely on traditional export markets, such as the United States and the European Union (EU), she added.
"The total population (in the Latin American and Caribbean region) is 660 million people. The EU population is 448 million. Thus, the INA-LAC market is much larger than the EU," said Kamdani.
In 2022, the INA-LAC Business Forum helped organize more than 100 business meetings during which agreements worth 16.57 million US dollars were signed in several sectors, such as mining, agriculture, and property investment.
Indonesia's total exports to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022 were recorded at US$5.75 billion, up 16.50 percent from 2021, according to the ministry.
The leading export products of Indonesia to the Latin American and Caribbean regions were automotive, footwear, palm oil, and rubber, among others.
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Reporter: Shofi Ayudiana
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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