President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono left New Delhi on Wednesday after cementing several billion dollars in trade and business deals between Indonesia and India.

Yudhoyono is headed to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where he will try to convince the developed world of Indonesia’s continued success so as to capture more investment.

Prior to his departure, Yudhoyono was honored as the chief guest at a ceremony commemorating Indian Republic Day, sitting side by side with India’s leaders from the governing coalition and the opposition.  

Since 1950, Indian Republic Day commemorations have been attended by high-profile foreign guests who were selected based on India’s strategic economic and political interests. Former president Sukarno was the chief guest in 1950.

“There is so much that India and Indonesia can do together. As members of the G20, India and Indonesia are strong economies in a dynamic Asia. India’s GDP amounts to US$1.3 trillion and Indonesia’s GDP registers at $700 billion. Our combined GDP thus amounts to $2 trillion,” he told Indian business leaders on Tuesday.

Yudhoyono witnessed the signing of 18 agreements on joint investment and development projects worth more than $15 billion. The international community was quick to call the deals evidence of “South-South” investment.

“It is becoming an increasingly important growth strategy for dozens of developing economies around the world as they look beyond investment flows from the once-powerful economies of Europe, Japan, and North America,” The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.

The agreements included Indian investment in projects such as railways, airports, power plants, shipyards, information technology, fertilizer plants, metal industries and special economic zones.

The nations’ leaders also vowed to more than double bilateral trade from $12 billion to $25 billion over the next five years.

The President said he was optimistic that Indonesia and India could cooperate in a mutually beneficial manner, saying Indonesia could benefit from India’s strengths  in  research, development and technology.

“Meanwhile, Indonesia has agriculture, mining and energy resources. Indonesia is also facing a challenge to develop the right technology and infrastructure. Therefore, we have the opportunity to collaborate and cooperate,” he said.

In Davos, Yudhoyono will give a speech at a session on energy to be attended by corporate CEOs.

Yudhoyono will also be a panelist at a session on sustainable development along with President Felipe Calderon of Mexico, President Tarja Halonen of Finland and President Jacob G Zuma of South Africa.

Yudhoyono is also slated to attend a meeting to discuss economic growth and the revitalization of world trade that is expected to be attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and World Trade Organization director Pascal Lamy.

Yudhoyono will also hold bilateral meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former US president Bill Clinton and former British prime minister Tony Blair.

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