Investment and trade cooperation between Indonesia and African countries can increase by up to 80 percent.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) believes that the trade value between Indonesia and African countries can reach US$20 billion a year, a top official said.

This can be possible if investors intensively open new markets in the African region, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Kadin Noke Kiroyan stated while speaking at a side event of the Asian-African Conference (AAC) commemoration here on Tuesday.

Investment and trade cooperation between Indonesia and African countries can increase by up to 80 percent, he added.

"In the next three years, the trade value between Indonesia and African countries can increase by up to 80 percent, from US$10.7 billion to US$20 billion a year. This depends on the willingness of Indonesian investors to expand their new markets," he noted.

Kiroyan, who is also the chairman of the Asian-African Business Summit 2015 of the AACC, pointed out that the trade value between Indonesia and African nations is not as high as that between China and African countries, which amounts to US$200 billion, and also as that between India and African countries, which reaches US$70 billion.

Therefore, investment and trade cooperation between nations of the two continents need to be boosted for them to become promising markets, he remarked.

Furthermore, South Africa and Nigeria, Kiroyan said, are among countries with potential in the worlds second-largest continent that investors can focus on.

While South Africas per capita income is US$6,500 a year, Nigerias is US$3,500 a year.

According to Kiroyan, Kadin can enter the strategic manufacturing, infrastructure and agrarian industries to boost the Indonesian-African trade volume.

Moreover, Chairman of Kadin Suryo Bambang Sulisto said that the potential of African markets can be tapped into, especially through Asian-African partnerships.

"Africa has good agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables and meat, which can be developed by Indonesian investors as investments. In addition, Indonesia can export electronic products such as machine and cars," he affirmed.

According to Sulisto, Asian-African partnerships have increased economic growth between the two continents. Therefore, opportunities to establish economic and business cooperation could open up.

Asia and Africa contribute 28.5 percent to the global GDP, and account for 75.3 percent of worlds population.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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