Indonesian Consulate General to Hold Trade Expo in Davao City

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Berlian Napitupulu, Indonesian Consul General in the Davao City, Philippine, said that the Indonesian Consulate General pitched a plan to hold a periodical traing expo in 2017 to Davao Mayor Sara Duterte on Monday, December 5, 2016.

Sara Duterte, who is also the daughter of the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, has expressed her support to the plan. The expo will be a part of the commemoration of the Davao City anniversary in March 2017 and the Kadayawan Festival in August 2017.

"We support the economic and social promotion activities to be held by the Indonesian Consulate General. The promotion activities can be held during the commemoration of Davao City anniversary in March next year," Sara Duterte said during Berlian's visit to her office.

In addition to pitching the trade expo plan, Berlian also explained the status of the Memorandum of Understanding on Sister City Agreement between Davao City and Manado, North Sulawesi. Berlian and Sara Duterte also discussed the renewal of the MoU on Sister City Agreement between Davao City and Bitung that recently expires.

The MoU on Sister City Agreement is the legal basis of cooperation between the two cities, covering the economic and trade, transportation and tourism, education and culture, youth and sports, environment and city management, human resources, and science and technology sectors.

Berlian hopes that the MoU will not only tighten the inter-government relationship, but also encourage business-to-business cooperation and people-to-people contact in the two cities. 

The meeting also discussed a plan to open a shipping route that will connect Davai City, General Santos, and Bitung. According to Berlian, the shipping route has a potential to tighten the bilateral relationship, as well as boosting economic growth in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Groth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

MARIA RITA