The Nigerian- Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is set to hold a trade forum in Jakarta, Indonesia to showcase Nigerian non-oil export potential.
The ten-day trade forum aims to promote the development of trade, commerce, investment, and industrial technological relationships between the public and private sectors of Nigeria and Indonesia.
It is targeted at driving socio-economic growth and development for all. It will take place between October 17 and 27, 2022.
Apart from boosting Nigeria-Indonesia trade by connecting businesspeople from both countries, experts believe the trade mission will attract the much-needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Nigeria.
“The main reason we are having the forum in Jakarta is to attract investment into the country. We also want to tell the Indonesian authorities that we have verified businesses that they can do business with,” said Ishmael Balogun, president of the Nigerian-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) during a press conference.
He stated that the chamber is working with the Nigerian embassy in Jakarta to make the expo a success.
“We are preparing a list of businesses in Jakarta that are interested in coming into Nigeria and the embassy will transfer that list to the Indonesian authority.”
Read also: How NPA is addressing bottlenecks with export trade
He stressed that the job of the chamber is to connect the Nigerian businesses with their counterparts in Indonesia, noting that there will be 15,000 exhibitors who will be showcasing their products at the expo.
Balogun noted that Nigeria’s trade balance with Indonesia is $2.6billion in 2021, adding that both countries can do better to boost their trade.
Speaking also, Usman Ogah, Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia, said that both countries share lots of similarities. “Crops that grow in Indonesia also grow in Nigeria, the difference is our level of using what nature has given us. We are ahead in some while Indonesia is also ahead in some and that is why there is a need for trade,” he said.
He called on the Nigerian businesses that would be attending the expo to focus on exhibiting what we have that the Indonesian economy wants while advising them to be good ambassadors of the country.
Hendro Jonathan, director of Indonesia Trade Expo said the expo is organized by Trade Expo Indonesia with the Embassy of Nigeria in Jakarta.
He stated that Indonesia is now the current president of the G20 countries, noting that it has maintained a 4 percent growth in the past five years.
He said that his country is ready to trade with Nigeria, especially in its non-oil sectors. “The total export of Nigeria to Indonesia is almost 10 times bigger than Indonesia to Nigeria but it is mainly crude oil products. We want to do more in the non-oil sectors.”
He said that both countries have over 200 million people and that most Indonesian are interested in the culture and fashion of Nigeria.
He said his country is currently driving collaboration between designers in Nigeria and Indonesia while calling that the collaboration of both countries should go beyond trade to cover finance and other aspects.
He noted that the expo will be the first international expo Indonesia is hosting since the pandemic outbreak.
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