Indonesian envoy visits FPCCI regional office

­LAHORE: Charge d’Affaires of the Indonesian Embassy Rahmat Hindiarta Kusuma visited the regional office of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday and held talks with its chairperson and vice president, Zaki Aijaz.

The discussion mainly focused on exploring avenues for increased trade and investment cooperation and bolstering collaboration in various sectors, including technology, and business-to-business exchanges.

Aijaz, the FPCCI’s regional chief, emphasized the importance of people-to-people and business-to-business linkages in driving bilateral economic ties.Kusuma highlighted Indonesia’s strategic position as the gateway to Southeast Asia’s 650 million strong population, the world’s third-largest market. He described Indonesia as the region’s largest economy with stable growth and the world's 16th largest, boasting $1 trillion GDP.

The Indonesian envoy offered support from Indonesian banks, both national and international, to Pakistani businesses. He stressed the need for stronger connections between the two nations’ business communities, underscoring the potential for mutual benefit.

Kusuma advocated for expanded cooperation in tourism, education, healthcare, and information technology sectors.Aijaz reciprocated, pointing to significant potential for Pakistan to strengthen trade and investment with Indonesia in areas like agriculture, textiles, information technology and tourism.

He acknowledged the current trade volume between the two countries as “not impressive”, with Pakistan primarily exporting textiles, surgical instruments, and sports goods, while importing palm oil, coal, and paper products.