TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi welcomed the visit of his Guinea counterpart Felix Lamah. The two ministers met to sign a Letter of Intent (LoI) for cooperation in the aviation sector as one of the strategic steps to tighten the partnership.

The initial agreement will be then followed up to the technical stage. “We open up this opportunity and are ready to work with the Government of Guinea,” said Budi Karya in a written statement quoted on Friday, January 27, 2023.

The visit of the Transportation Minister of Guinea was a follow-up to the meeting between the Indonesian Ambassador in Dakar, Senegal, and the Guinean government in September 2022. Other than the need for modernization of its transportation sector, Guinea was also interested in collaborating in the air transportation sector.

During his time in Indonesia, Felix Lamah visited several places, including the Indonesian aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI). He planned to establish a national airline (Guinea Air) and expressed interest in using aircraft made by PTDI.

“PTDI is a strategic company in the field of aircraft manufacturing and its components. PTDI has produced a number of aircraft, which until now have been used by various countries, both for passenger transportation and military purposes,” Budi Karya explained.

Minister Budi Karya also said the sea and air transportation sectors play a vital role in realizing connectivity in the archipelago. “So we have formed various strategic companies as manufacturing industries to support the needs of the aviation industry, one of them is PTDI.”

Budi Karya further explained that cooperation opportunities with Guinea were not only in the air sector, but also land, sea, and railways transport, as well as human resources in the air transportation sector.

MOH. KHORY ALFARIZI

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