On August 31, the opening ceremony of the Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan was held in the second largest city of Indonesia, Surabaya, followed by the “Kazakhstan-Indonesian Business Forum”, Delovoy Kazakhstan reports.
Abdul Gofur, deputy chairman of the Surabaya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, head of a number of companies in the field of information technology, food industry, and agriculture, has been appointed Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan.
Indonesian Deputy Minister of Commerce Jerry Sambuaga, Chairman of the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry Adik Putranto, as well as about 80 representatives of Indonesian companies attended the event.
At the opening of the Honorary Consulate, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Indonesia Daniyar Sarekenov noted that the prerequisites for opening a consulate in East Java were the high economic activity of the province, which forms 15% of Indonesia's GDP. Also, the interest of East Java entrepreneurs in cooperation with Kazakh partners, as well as the prospects for cooperation with East Java in trade-investment and cultural-humanitarian areas. The Honorary Consulate is expected to become a link between Kazakh and East Javanese business circles.
Chairman of the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry Adik Putranto stressed that the appointment of one of the leaders of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan is of great importance in promoting practical cooperation with Kazakh businessmen. He expressed hope that the opening of the Honorary Consulate would give an additional impetus to the increase in trade, strengthening cooperation in the field of investment and tourism.
Promising areas for doing business in the cities of Surabaya and Almaty were presented within the framework of the Business Forum with the participation of Ali Affandi, Chairman of the Surabaya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Akerkin Eraliyeva, Deputy Chairman of the Almaty Chamber of Entrepreneurs.
Anara Mekebayeva, Head of Cooperation with European Countries of KAZAKH INVEST, presented information to Indonesian businessmen about the favorable investment climate in Kazakhstan, the main preferences for investors, urging Indonesian companies to jointly develop projects in priority sectors of the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
"KTZ Express" JSC presented the transit transport potential of Kazakhstan, and acquainted with the work of the Kazakh terminal in the Chinese port of Lianyungang.
In turn, representatives of "QazTrade" Trade Policy Development Center" JSC spoke about the main items of Kazakh exports, key areas of Kazakhstan's trade policy, measures to support exporters, noting the great potential for increasing trade with East Java.
At the same time, representatives of the Astana International Financial Center invited Indonesian companies to actively cooperate in the financial sector, strengthen cooperation in the field of Islamic banking and financial technologies.
Also, a presentation about the interest in cooperation with Kazakhstan was made by the food manufacturer Finna Group (produces Kapal Api coffee), the manufacturer of mechanical, electrical and medical equipment Samator, the Hajj and Umrah Association AMPHURI, and the logistics company PELINDO.
At the end of the event, the Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Jerry Sambuaga, emphasized that Kazakhstan and Indonesia have great potential to increase trade, incl. non-primary goods. He stated that the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia is ready to closely cooperate with its Kazakh partners on this issue.
In the province of East Java with a population of more than 40 million people. the main industrial cluster of Indonesia is concentrated, incl. textile, footwear, furniture, chemical, metallurgical, pharmaceutical industries, etc. Surabaya is the second largest city, economic center and port of the country (after Jakarta).
In the pre-pandemic 2019 we recorded 370-million-dollar trade turnover. Although 2020 was not as fruitful as 2019, the following years featured positive dynamics. In 2021, bilateral trade figures doubled to reach 174 million dollars. In the first half of 2022 only, trade volumes increased up to 180 million dollars.
