By: M. Irfandi
The Government of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in the development of the industrial sector. This step was taken to benefit both parties in order to encourage economic growth.
The MoU was signed by Indonesian Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto with UAE Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei on the sidelines of a bilateral meeting between President Joko Widodo and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi as well as Deputy Chief of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Bogor Palace at Bogor.
Both parties are committed to developing potential industrial sectors, including agriculture, metals, machinery and petrochemicals.
Airlangga said CPO commodities, food and beverages as well as paper and pulp products were some of the top 10 export products from Indonesia to the UAE, “Airlangga said.
In addition to the MoU on Industrial Cooperation, other agreements that were also signed were on Increasing Investment Protection, Double Taxation, Customs Cooperation, Tourism, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Defense, Consular and Culture.
In addition to the collaboration, according to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, there were three Business to Business (B2B) MoUs that were also signed on the occasion.
Including the agreement between PT Pertamina and the National Oil Company of Abu Dhabi (Adnoc) regarding Refinery Development Master Plans (RDMP) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, as well as the development of integrated supply chains and storage of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), an agreement between PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical and Mubadala on the development of naphtha crackers and petrochemical complexes, and agreements on business projects between DP World and the diversified Maspion Group conglomerate in East Java.
In addition there is also an agreement between DP World and the Maspion Group regarding the development of the container terminal in East Java.
With the cooperation activities carried out by both parties, hopefully it can spur trade performance, encourage investment, increase the capacity of industry players and work opportunities so that meetings with the UAE can be a breath of fresh air in the Indonesian economy.