"The results of President Yudhoyono`s visit are very positive as Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has also expressed commitment to visiting and bringing with him a trade mission to Indonesia next June," Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said in Abuja, Nigeria on Sunday.
President Yudhoyono and Nigeria`s President Goodluck Abelle Jonathan held a meeting for 45 minutes at the Nigerian presidential palace on Sunday, during which Indonesia and Nigeria agreed to increase trade and investment cooperation especially in the fields of food, agriculture and energy.
"It has been good so far. But in the future economic cooperation between the two countries should be made deeper. We would make an inventory of areas where cooperation should be increased," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after the meeting.
In the meantime, the ministers of trade and businessmen of the two countries held a business forum to discuss efforts of stepping up trade and investment cooperation.
Following the business forum, President Yudhoyono received 14 leading businessmen and directors of Indonesian and Nigerian state-owned companies.
The president received them one day after business makers of both nations met in a business forum which was attended by Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan and Nigerian Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga.
According to Gita Wirjawan, the president hailed the determination of the business players of both countries who were resolved to optimize bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, particularly in the oil, gas, service and consumer goods sectors.
Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan and his counterpart Olutoyin Aganga in their bilateral meeting expressed mutual commitment to increasing two-way trade to US$5 billion in the coming three years from the current level of about US$2.7 billion.
Indonesia-Nigeria`s total trade value in 2011 was recorded at US$2.1 billion. It increased to US$2.7 billion in the January-October 2012 period, but Indonesia suffered a deficit of US$1.5 billion as a result of its big oil and gas imports.
According to the Indonesian embassy, Nigeria is the main gateway to trade in West Africa and right now 14 Indonesian companies have been operating in that country and around 400 Indonesian nationals are living there.
Indonesia has considered Nigeria as its big brother who could open an opportunity for Indonesian commodities to enter the region, he said.
Five major products from Indonesia have so far been in great demand in that country namely textile, food and beverages, agricultural products, office equipment and medicines.
For years Indonesian textile and furniture products could not enter Nigeria because of an import ban Nigeria has imposed to protect that country`s local products.
But since 2010 the Nigerian government has revoked the policy opening an opportunity for Indonesian businessmen to expand there and increase their market share in that country.
In a bilateral meeting which was also attended by Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board Chairman Muhammad Khatib Basri the two countries trade ministers agreed to establish a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with a task force that would formulate the road map of both countries trade and investment development.
"PTA with Nigeria is a correct step to develop markets for Indonesian industrial products, particularly non-traditional markets which were difficult to penetrate so far," Gita Wirjawan said.
In the investment field, a total of 11 Indonesian companies have invested in Nigeria, particularly in the food sector, polypropylene, medicines, detergents and soap, bulbs and other chemical products.
Nigeria even offered to Indonesian businessmen 40 million hectares of land that they could cultivate in developing oil palm and cacao plantations.
In the business forum the two countries` chambers of commerce signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Gita said that a number of agreements were reached during the bilateral meeting that would be followed up and optimized through cooperation in the trade and investment.
The agreements included cooperation in the aviation sector. Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia signed contracts with five Nigerian airlines on aircraft maintenance, repair and reconfiguration worth US$60 million for a three year period.
"Garuda signed the contracts in Abuja, Nigeria, in the presence of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," Garuda Indonesia President Director Emirsyah Sattar said.
The contracts were signed by PT Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia and five of its Nigerian counterparts. The five Nigerian airlines are Kabo Air, Silverback Africa, Hak Air, Max Air Limited and Service Air Limited.
"I am happy for just having signed the contracts for the interest of earning foreign exchange for the state," Emir who was full of smiles, said.
He said that Indonesia`s high-tech service products had also hit Nigeria`s market where a number of airlines in the West African country had purchased the services of Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF), particularly in aircraft maintenance, repair and reconfiguration.
"Their airplanes would be taken to Jakarta for maintenance. Nigeria even asks Garuda to build a hangar in Lagos," he said.
Emir said Nigeria had a number of Boeing 747 airplanes. For their maintenance, Nigeria`s choice of maintenance places is either in Europe or in Indonesia which shared equal distance.
"It turns out that Nigeria chooses Indonesia," the Garuda president director said.
Now, the GMF is doing the reconfiguration of four airplanes of the Horrison Kuti Air, which are to be launched by Nigeria as new players in its aviation industry.
Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria Sudirman Haseng told the media that if Max Air and Kabo Air purchased new airplanes, they usually bought from Japan. The airplanes were then taken to Indonesia for reconfiguration and to have their interior changed before they were operated in Nigeria.
"The GMF was once handling four aircraft from Max Air and two from Kabo air. They were satisfied with Garuda services," the ambassador said.
Therefore, Nigeria increased cooperation with Indonesia, asking it to build hangars in a number of airports in Lagos, Kano and Kastina.
(A014/H-YH)
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
