TEMPO.CO, Singapore - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said on Tuesday that he will take serious measures to tackle the problems in the Batam, Bintan and Karimun free trade zone.
"We wish to emphasize that we will take serious steps to settle issues in the industrial zone and free trade zone in Batamg, Bintan and Karimun," he stated during a joint press conference with Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, which was held after their meeting.
After all licensing and investment issues on the three islands are resolved, the president added that he wished to invite Singaporean investors to invest on the islands and their surrounding areas once again.
In connection with this project, President Jokowi affirmed that he will set up a special office to deal with regulation-related problems, to ensure that the zone attracts more foreign investors to Indonesia.
"We know a lot about regulation problems and the regional authority. We will establish a special office that will settle these issues in Bintan and Karimun," he stressed.
President Joko Widodo also agreed with the idea for making Indonesia and Singapore one destination package.
"I also agreed to promote cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore as a joint destination package. We hope that with this promotion cooperation, more tourists visit Singapore and Indonesia and their number increases from that last year," he remarked.
With regard to cooperation in security, Jokowi noted that both nations had agreed to exchange intelligence information, especially regarding terrorism and activities of the ISIS.
"This is a challenge for nearly all countries. Indonesia is not alone in its concern over the issue," he admitted.
ANTARA
