Jakarta (ANTARA) - Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), Bambang Soesatyo, invited Singapore to invest in the development of Indonesia’s new capital city, Nusantara, during a meeting with Singaporean Ambassador Kwok Fook Seng in Jakarta on Friday.

Soesatyo made assurances that Indonesia remains safe and peaceful after the February 14 general elections, so investors from Singapore and other countries need not harbor concerns about investing in the country.

"Financing for the new capital development comes from the state budget, business entity work agreements (KPBU), and private investment," he noted in an official statement from the MPR.

Soesatyo stated that bilateral relations between Indonesia and Singapore had developed well, positively, and in a constructive manner.

He noted that Indonesia considers Singapore its most strategic and largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

He highlighted that during the period from 2010 to 2023, except for 2013, Singapore was Indonesia's biggest investor.

Quoting data from the Ministry of Investment, he noted that the value of Singapore’s investment in Indonesia had reached US$15.4 billion, higher than China’s investment of US$7.4 billion.

Soesatyo stated that Singapore's investment is generally in the sectors of transportation, warehousing, telecommunications, agriculture, food, and mining, as well as the non-metallic mineral industry.

Singapore's investment is spread across the Riau Islands, Jakarta, Banten, East Java, North Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan.

He underlined that Singapore’s opportunities to invest in the new capital project in East Kalimantan are still wide open.

Soesatyo noted that until 2024, the use of the state budget for Nusantara's development is planned to reach Rp75.4 trillion (around US$4.79 billion), or 16.1 percent of the total budget.

He stated that so far, 23 investors have invested in and carried out projects in Nusantara, with a total investment value of Rp41 trillion (around US$2.6 billion).

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Translator: Bagus Ahmad, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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