Business news

26 May 2023

Belarus invited to take part in Indonesia’s new capital project

An archive photo

MOSCOW, 26 May (BelTA) - Belarus has been invited to take part in the project to set up a new administrative capital of Indonesia, director of the National Centre for Marketing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Nikolai Borisevich told BelTA as he commented on the results of the Belarusian-Indonesian business forum hosted by the Business and Cultural Complex at the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow on 26 May, BelTA has learned.

"One of the topics of discussion was the project to build a new administrative capital of Indonesia. The Indonesian side expects that Belarus will join this project," Nikolai Borisevich said.

"Indonesia has been the key market and trading partner for us in this region," he stressed. “This is the fourth most populous country in the world. Accordingly, the demand for products and commodities is huge. Naturally, this is a two-way street, and we are also interested in certain goods from Indonesia. In addition, we see Indonesia as a gateway to other Asian markets. So there's a lot of work to do."

Nikolai Borisevich explained that the main purpose of the event was to promote Belarusian exports. "Therefore, we presented Belarusian capabilities in the most promising areas which, as we believe, might be of interest to Indonesian partners. We have a balanced steady trade. It features about several hundred commodity and export items. Our main export potential lies with food security, first of all, potash fertilizers. Recently, Indonesia has shown a great interest in increasing the supply of Belarusian dairy products. They are in great demand and the Indonesian partners took note of this at the forum. So we will look for new ways to meet these needs," he said.

Nikolai Borisevich also considers the supply of halal products to be promising: "We signed a special agreement last year, and now the process of accreditation and certification is being completed. We hope that this will create new additional opportunities. We also discussed this topic at the forum, and presented our products."

"Another area (Indonesian partners are also interested in it, and this was noted by the deputy minister of agriculture of Indonesia) is the supply of farm machines and BelAZ trucks, which are already successfully operating in Sumatra and other regions. Moreover, as for Belarusian agricultural machinery, Indonesians are interested not only in increasing its supplies, but also in setting up joint ventures with Belarus," Nikolai Borisevich noted.

"These are the key, reference points on which we will concentrate our efforts in order to promote our products. We are competitive in this market. There is interest from Indonesian partners. If there is a demand, then we will look for our niche and satisfy this demand," he concluded.

The forum was attended by Ambassador of Indonesia to Russia and concurrently to Belarus José Antonio Morato Tavares, representatives of Indonesian authorities and regions, heads of export/import companies and representatives of Belarusian and Indonesian businesses interested in developing and establishing mutually beneficial ties. "The Indonesian ambassador sees great prospects in the cooperation between our countries. Thanks to his personal efforts, we have seen significant progress in the cooperation in trade and economy. He shows interest in cooperation, has a good human and professional regard for Belarus, and we must use this interest," Nikolai Borisevich said.