Multi-million dollar deals made at RI-Africa forum

Eighteen Indonesian and African business entities have signed 10 agreements worth US$587 million during the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) in Nusa Dua, Bali.

“The deals cover strategic businesses, such as credit line facilities,” Daniel Tumpal Simandjuntak, the Foreign Ministry's African affairs director, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said that the agreements were a good start to encourage more Indonesian businesspeople to establish trade and investment ties with their African counterparts.

“There has been a negative perspective on Africa. The IAF’s main aim is to change that perspective,” said Tumpal, adding that the economies of African nations were presently experiencing growth.

(Read also: Indonesia expresses interest to support Africa’s development)

Signed on Tuesday during the IAF’s opening ceremony, the agreements include partnerships established between Indonesia Eximbank and the African Export-Import Bank, Indonesia Eximbank and Standard Chartered Bank, PT Wijaya Karya (Wika) and the Cabinet Chief of the Republic of Niger, and PT Timah and Topwide Ventures, as well as Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) Aeroasia with Max Air and Ethiopian Airlines.

It was also announced at Tuesday’s event that Indonesian and African parties were currently discussing business plans worth $1.3 billion.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who opened the IAF, said on Tuesday that the trade volume between Africa and Indonesia in 2017 reached $8.84 billion, or a 15.25 percent year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, Africa's 2017 investment in Indonesia reached $1.28 billion. (ebf)