prijava
SARAJEVO, July 1 (FENA) - Company Bawazir Group plans to import around 17.500 tons of salt from Tuzla to Indonesia worth 28 million euros, which will be a good business and trade cooperation for both countries, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to BiH Amelia Achmad Yani said in an interview with FENA.
Interviewed by: Bisera Džidić
“I visited the Company Solana in Tuzla that produces Salt. It is amazing for me that Tuzla does not have sea but Tuzla has a great abundant of salt underground. The salt is pure and original and of a very high quality,” said Ambassador Amelia Achmad Yani, whose active engagement in strengthening economic cooperation between the two states records significant results.
She also confirmed her engagement by organizing and chairing an important meeting on Business to Business Matching between Indonesia and BiH, which was held at this-year’s Sarajevo Business Forum (SBF).
“The Business Matching was attended by 17 companies based in BiH, also by Bawazir Group based in Jeddah, and one Company based in Germany, the DKR - the German Center for Robotics, as well as one Company Alchemy Capital Sarajevo whose founder is from Bahrain. A few Government officials also attended from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Service for Foreigner’s Affairs; Chamber of Economy the Federation of BiH, and H.E. Mr. Rahul Chhabra, Ambassador of India based in Budapest, Hungary. The meeting was also attended by officials of the Bosna Bank International (BBI),” said Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia.
She emphasized the number of business entities was much higher than last year, which shows there is a great interest from both sides and need for one on one dialogue between BiH and Indonesian companies.
“The meeting resulted in some orders for Indonesian coffees, whereas tourist agencies will begin visit programs from both states. Indonesia presented many products, mainly Coffee Beans of Arabica and Robusta from various places in Indonesia; Coconut sugar, Cinnamon, Bricket from Coconut shells, Cacao and Tea. For Tourism programs, Indonesia presented ‘Visit Indonesia’. Both presentations received an excellent response,” added Ambassador Amelia Achmad Yani.
When it comes to further development of economic cooperation between the two states, Ambassador said that Trade Expo will be held on October 24-28 in Jakarta and she hopes businessmen from BiH will attend.
Asked about the coffee produced in Indonesia, which was said to be of excellent quality during the presentation (and experts said such quality is not present in the offer in the region at the moment), and which is expected to be imported in BiH this year, the Ambassador said that every island produces coffee.
“For export – import between Indonesia – BiH, the most important of course is Indonesian Coffee both Arabica and Robusta. These plantations of coffee grow almost in all parts of Indonesia, on different altitudes, which affects the taste and strength of the coffee,” explained the Ambassador, adding that since coffee is consumed a lot in BiH, she believes it can be significant product in trade exchange of the two states.
Indonesia is the 4th biggest coffee producer in the world and 2nd greatest exporter of specialty coffee in the world. It produces 10.6 million coffee bags a year and 90 percent of coffee in Indonesia is grown in small farms size of one hectar. Export of coffee increased by 25 percent in 2017 compared to 2016, which confirms demand for Indonesian coffee, which has been grown since 17th century. Indonesians are third in the world when it comes to beginning of coffee cultivation, after Ethiopia and Arabia, and the first export of coffee from Indonesia to Europe took place in 1717.
Another significant presentation at this-year’s Sarajevo Business Forum (SBF) was the one on tourist potential and offer of Indonesia, which consists of 17.504 islands, the biggest ones being Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, and smaller islands or group of islands such as Bali, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Greater Sunda Islands and the Maluku Islands.
Two thirds of Indonesian surface, with population of 225 million, is water. Java Island is one of the most densely populated islands in the world, where nearly 80 percent of the population lives.
Both states stress tourist in economic cooperation.
“The number of visitors to Indonesia from BiH is around 930 in 2017 and has already increased by 30% than 2016. For 2018 the number of visitors we predicted will increase by 30% than 2017 since several airlines are coming to Sarajevo and directly to Indonesia via Dubai, Istanbul or Doha. This is a good sign. Many Indonesians also visit BiH, mostly Mostar and Medjugorje. These numbers are not registered in our data because Indonesian tourists come using Schengen visa via Europe like Rome, Vienna or Germany. So their arrivals are not known by our Embassy,” said the Ambassador.
She concluded that the Travel Bureaus now will organize a visit to BiH or to Indonesia with a more detailed programs at a moderate cost. Travelling from or to Jakarta or Sarajevo is about 14 hours flying.
(FENA) A. B.
