Iswaran in Indonesia for 3-day visit

Singapore

INDUSTRY minister S Iswaran is now in Indonesia for a three-day visit that will first take him to the capital Jakarta, and then to Medan in the province of North Sumatra.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said that his trip, which began on Monday, is to deepen bilateral economic relations with Southeast-Asia's largest economy and to open up business opportunities for Singapore companies.

Singapore and Indonesia mark 50 years of diplomatic ties this year. The ministry described the current state of economic relations as strong.

Last year, bilateral trade amounted to S$56.1 billion, a sum that ranked Indonesia as Singapore's fifth-largest trading partner. Singapore was Indonesia's third-largest trading partner and remained the top investor in Indonesia last year.

Singapore and Indonesia have been listed among each other's list of top source markets for international visitor arrivals for several years. Last year, about 2.9 million visitors from Indonesia came to Singapore.

Mr Iswaran will meet Indonesian Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan and Minister for Industry Airlangga Hartarto in Jakarta. In Medan, he will meet North Sumatra vice-governor Ibu Nurhajizah.

MTI said these meetings will explore the expansion of economic collaboration in the areas of energy, tourism, infrastructure, vocational education and the digital sector. It added that Mr Iswaran's visit to the North Sumatra governor's office also signals a "deepening of economic ties with regional governments beyond Jakarta".

Mr Iswaran is also leading a business delegation comprising 10 companies to both cities. This mission is organised by trade agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

Accompanying him on this trip are officials from MTI, the Economic Development Board, IE Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board.