JAKARTA: Indonesian entrepreneurs are keen to invest in joint venture projects in Bangladesh’s energy, power, transportation, infrastructure and tourism sectors, said Rina P Soemarno, ambassador of the Southeast Asian nation in Dhaka, yesterday.
She said Bangladesh and Indonesia have already signed a primary deal on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and setting up an LNG-based 1,400-megawatt power plant in Kutubdia island of Cox’s Bazar.
In January, Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina and Bangladesh Power Development Board signed the memorandum of understanding to develop an integrated gas project with an estimated investment of $2 billion.
Soemarno spoke at a press briefing at Le Méridien hotel in Dhaka to announce the Indonesia Fair 2018. The three-day event starts tomorrow at the same venue.
Business and networking programmes, trade exhibition, fashion shows, cultural performances, talk-shows, film screening, and selfie competition will be organised on the sidelines of the fair.
About the scope of broadening bilateral trade, Soemarno said Indonesia is a huge market with 26.5 crore people who could use more products and services from Bangladesh.
Indonesia is the 15th largest economy in the world with a gross domestic product of $1.1 trillion in 2017.
Soemarno said Bangladesh enjoys strong bilateral economic relations with Indonesia. The volume of two-way trade was $1.67 billion in 2017, with Indonesia’s export amounting to $1.59 billion.
Indonesia’s major exports to Bangladesh are palm oil, coal, chemicals, wood pulp, yarn, and artificial staple fibres and imports include apparel products and jute yarn.
