ndustry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in Jakarta on Monday that he had offered the development of three industrial estates in North Kalimantan, North Sumatra and North Sulawesi to Singapore.
He explained that the concept was similar to the development of other industrial estates in the country, such as the Kendal Industrial Estate (KIK) in Central Java.
“Singapore is a neighboring country that has a strategic role in the interests of Indonesia and the region,” Airlangga said, as quoted by kompas.com.
Airlangga met with Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan last week to discuss cooperation in various sectors.
The government has offered the development of Tanah Tuning Industrial Estate In North Kalimantan, Kuala Tanjung Industrial Estate in North Sulawesi and Bitung Industrial Estate in North Sulawesi.
In addition to investment cooperation, the two countries are also cooperating in improving the quality of vocational education in Indonesia.
The industry minister said Singapore had a role in developing a furniture polytechnic at KIK that planned to start operating this year with an inaugural class of 96 students.
“This is in line with President’s instruction to equip each industrial estate with [a vocational education facility],” he said, adding that 25 principals of vocational senior high schools across the country would take part in a leadership training program from Feb. 19 to March 3 at Singapore's Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
Singapore was the largest contributor of foreign investment in Indonesia in 2017, investing US$8.4 billion, or 26.2 percent of total foreign investment in Indonesia. The island-nation was followed by Japan with $5 billion and China with $3.4 billion. (bbn)
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