TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
RI should benefit from new Suez Canal: Envoy
The presidential envoy to the Middle East and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Alwi Shihab, said Indonesia needed to take advantage of the new Suez Canal to increase economic cooperation between the two countries
Change Size
T
he presidential envoy to the Middle East and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Alwi Shihab, said Indonesia needed to take advantage of the new Suez Canal to increase economic cooperation between the two countries.
'Indonesia can take advantage of a number of economic zones in Egypt, especially those which are located along the Suez Canal, to develop Indonesian investments in the country,' he said as quoted by Antara on Thursday. The former foreign minister was speaking during a press conference at the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo on Wednesday.
Alwi congratulated the Egyptian government and people over the completion of the new Suez Canal development. He highlighted the importance of the Suez Canal for the increase of the world's trade activities, especially for countries in the region.
The presidential envoy said the new Suez Canal mega project could benefit not only Egypt but also its neighboring countries. Other countries, such as Indonesia, which had all along benefited from the Suez Canal, could also experience great benefits with the opening of the new canal.
The opening of the new canal is considered effective for reducing the waiting time of vessels that want to pass through the most important waterway in the world.
Alwi highlighted strong support from the Egyptian people for their leaders, which they had shown by fulfilling Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi's call to help the country's government finance the development of the second Suez Canal independently and without foreign loans.
'Responding to the call, Egyptian people arrived in great numbers to buy Suez Canal Certificates so that they could collect US$8 billion in only several days,' he said.
The former foreign minister said the project showed that President al-Sisi was able to fulfill his promises to build the Suez Canal within one year, or far shorter than its initial construction plan of three years.
He said Indonesia could learn from the way Egypt financed the development of the second Suez Canal, which was quite unique, namely by issuing certificates for Egyptians. Such financial methods could be used by Indonesia to finance large projects without having to burden its government with massive foreign loans. (ebf)(++++)
