Jakarta (VNA) – Vietnamese and Indonesianenterprises specialising in various fields like food, beverages and renewableenergy gathered at a business matchmaking seminar in Jakarta on June 21.  

The event was jointly held by the Vietnamese Ministryof Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia, and the JakartaChamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Jakarta).

In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador toIndonesia Ta Van Thong affirmed that the two countries boast great potentialfor cooperation in business and investment.

Last year, two-way trade reached 14.17 billion USD, hesaid, adding that Indonesia’s investment in Vietnam was valued at about 620million USD, and that from Vietnam stood at 50 million USD.

However, the diplomat pointed out that the figures remaina far cry from the potential as well as other optimal conditions brought aboutby bilateral legal documents which have been almost done, close geographicaldistance, the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and free trade agreementsbetween ASEAN and partners, along with direct flights between the twocountries.

Thong expressed his hope that more partnerships willbe set up by the two countries’ enterprises, and more Indonesian firms willinvest in Vietnam.

Tran Quang Huy, Director of the MoIT’s Asia-AfricaMarket Department, noted that Indonesia is now Vietnam’s third biggest tradepartner in ASEAN, and Vietnam is Indonesia’s fourth largest in the region.

Vietnam exports rice, coffee, rubber, aquaticproducts, garments-textiles, phones and spare parts, steel, constructionmaterials and plastic products to Indonesia, while importing coal, auto spareparts, palm oi and animal feed from the country.

Kadin Jakarta Chairwoman Diana Dewi said the seminaroffers an opportunity for Indonesian and Vietnamese businesses to promotecooperation and expand operations in the respective markets.

On the sidelines of the seminar, there were meetingsand working sessions between producers, exporters and importers in different areas./.