TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, has planned to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Hong Kong during a working visit to Hong Kong scheduled on April 30, 2017, after attending the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines on April 28 and 29, 2017.
"We want to encourage Hong Kong business owners to invest in Indonesia, particularly in the field of infrastructure and creative industry," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir said during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, April 25, 2017.
As one of the largest economy in the region, Indonesia aims to strengthen economic ties with Hong Kong. Delegations of both countries will sign two memorandums of understanding on business collaborations and partnerships in the culture sector.
Indonesia will also push an agenda to expedite negotiations related to the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to increase the intensity of trades between ASEAN and Hong Kong.
In 2016, the realization of Hong Kong's investment in Indonesia reached USD 2.25 billion, significantly increasing from those realized in previous years that stood at around USD 691 million. The trade value between the two countries climbed to USD 3.9 billion in 2016 from USD 3.8 billion in 2015.
President Jokowi will also discuss protections for Indonesian citizens in Hong Kong.
"The President also pays attention to protections for our migrant workers. There are 172,000 Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong," Armanatha revealed.
YOHANES PASKALIS
