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Indonesia offers latest model of airplane to Micronesia
Dropping by: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) walks with the president of the Federated States of Micronesia, Peter M
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ropping by: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) walks with the president of the Federated States of Micronesia, Peter M. Christian, to inspect the troops while Christian was on a state visit to the Bogor Palace on Wednesday. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)
State-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) hopes to use a visit by the president of the Federated States of Micronesia to its factory in Bandung on Thursday to try to sell its latest model of airplane.
The Pacific island nation’s leader, Peter Christian, is currently in Indonesia on a state visit to further the agenda of the Pacific Island Forum (PIF), according to officials. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo received his Micronesian counterpart on Wednesday at the Bogor Palace, where they spoke about enhancing cooperation in the economic and socio-cultural fields, as well as establishing regular consultation forums to develop more cooperation initiatives.
“We wanted to be more defined, we wanted to be useful, we wanted [ties] to be meaningful and we wanted to help develop a closer relationship between our two countries,” Christian said alongside Jokowi. Jokowi offered President Christian the aircraft, currently in development, to improve inter-island connectivity.
“Indonesia [...] offered the N-219 aircraft produced by PT Dirgantara Indonesia to be used as an inter-island transport plane,” the President said.
PTDI has said the 19-seater airplane could be modified to land on water to serve markets in archipelagic states. The two-engine turboprop N-219 Nurtanio aircraft, designed with short take-off and landing capabilities suitable for moving passengers across remote areas, made its maiden flight test on last year’s Independence Day on Aug. 17. The model was the brainchild of designers from PTDI and researchers from the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN).
The company expects the new plane to get certified this year and be ready to enter the market in 2019. PTDI has plans to produce at least 12 annually.
Edi Yusup, the ministry’s director for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Micronesia has yet to specifically respond to the offer, but said President Christian would visit the PTDI facility in Bandung on Thursday morning.
President Christian said Indonesia’s offer to assist Micronesia with technical and economic exchanges would help his country face development obstacles caused by limited resources, limited land and a limited number of people.
Last month, PTDI received Rp 354 billion (US$24.6 million) in credit from Indonesia Eximbank to export its CN-235 aircraft to Nepal and Senegal. Jakarta has been pushing other governments to utilize the services of the Indonesian export financing agency to fund large procurements.
The two leaders also talked about promoting more cooperation within the PIF, the premier subregional organization in the Pacific Ocean.
Micronesia is a full member there, while Indonesia is one of 14 development partners.
President Jokowi said he hopes their partnership would encourage both countries to play more active roles in the PIF, especially in strengthening regional security and supporting economic growth and sustainable development. (tjs)
