TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla informed visiting Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari and the accompanying business delegation at a business forum on Tuesday that Indonesia is now the right place to invest.

"Similar to India, Indonesian businesses are now spreading across the world and is also a good place for India to invest," he stated at the Indonesia-India Business Forum.

He noted that Indonesia is currently intensifying its efforts to build cooperation with developing countries in the world, and therefore, now is the right time to invest in the country.

In view of the several similarities existing between the two countries, he believed that bilateral cooperation would run smoothly.

"My first name and that of the Indian vice president is the same, which is Muhammad. We both are the 12th vice presidents and who have now also become the vice presidents for the second term under presidents who are different from those in the previous term," he pointed out.

He said the Indonesian government hoped that increased bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of trade would be realized.

"Trade between Indonesia and India is close to US$20 billion per year, and we still have an opportunity to increase it," he affirmed.

Kalla said there are several sectors with potential for development, including commodity trade and industrial cooperation.

On the occasion, Vice President Ansari stated that his visit was aimed at expanding and deepening cooperation with Indonesia, which India considers as its strategic partner.

"We have discussed ways to diversify and increase bilateral trade and boost investment in the two countries through the private sector," he emphasized.

He remarked that the two countries would seriously follow up on cooperation in the fields of new and renewable energy sources.

"In connection with this, Indonesian minister of energy will, in the near future, visit India," he said.

ANTARA