REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Trade Ministry is intensifying cooperation on export and service promotions with Japan in an effort to step up economic and trade relations between the two countries.
"We are committed to supporting our mutual export promotion activities to increase bilateral trade," Nus Nuzulia Ishak, the director general for National Export Development (PEN) of the Trade Ministry, stated here on Tuesday.
On the occasion, Nuzulia and Governor of Japan's Wakayama Prefecture, Yoshinobu Nisaka, signed a joint statement to mutually promote services and product exports of the two countries.
The cooperation is an effort to increase bilateral, economic, and trade relations. It covers the exchange of information, seminars, participation in international exhibitions, trade missions, product development, and other activities of mutual interest.
"This cooperation is important and strategic for Indonesia as Japan is its export market. In 2015, Japan was Indonesia's third-largest export destination country after the United States and China," Nuzulia pointed out.
According to the director general, Indonesia should take advantage of the market in Wakayama Prefecture. It is one of the prefectures in Japan that is widely known for its manufacturing, chemical, and tourism industries.
"Indonesia can capitalize on the market opportunities there by exporting its furniture, home decor products, and herbal or spa products to hotels and resorts in Wakayama. It could also promote its Halal products. After all, Japan will host the Olympic Games in 2020," she noted.
Besides signing a joint statement, the government of Wakayama Prefecture also explored the possibility of investing in the rice husk-based vegetable oil processing industry.
Investment in this sector is expected to offer an opportunity to the local rice producers to process their rice waste into a value-added product.
Yoshinobu emphasized that the cooperation will open up opportunities for business players of the two countries. The Japanese government will utilize the data at the directorate general of PEN to boost exports or to make investment in Indonesia.
"We are cooperating with the PEN directorate general to offer various business opportunities to the private sector of the two countries," remarked Yoshinobu.
Apart from that, Yoshinobu said, Wakayama had, so far, established cooperation with the regional governments in Indonesia; however, constraints still existed in terms of sharing similar views between businesses of the two countries.
"So far, cooperation had only been established between the regional governments. But, we think that it lacks effectiveness if the regional governments try to match them. With the trade ministry, we hope that businesses of the countries would understand each other better," Yoshinobu said.
Bilateral trade between Indonesia and Japan during the January-February 2016 period was recorded at US$4.68 billion, down 19.48 percent compared to that in the corresponding period in 2015.
Of the total, the value of Indonesia's non-oil and gas exports to Japan were recorded at $2.16 billion, while its non-oil and non-gas imports from that country stood at $1.93 billion, showing that Indonesia had enjoyed a trade surplus of $234.86 million.
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