More and more Indonesian businesses look to expand investment in Vietnam and vice versa, and the Indonesian side wishes to further promote these activities, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) Arsjad Rasjid has said.

During an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of his working visit to Vietnam on March 13 – 14, Rasjid said several big Indonesian companies have invested in Vietnam such as Ciputra in real estate and Japfa in husbandry, expressing the belief that the goal of lifting two-way trade between Vietnam and Indonesia to 15 billion USD by 2028 is within reach.

According to Rasjid, many Singaporean institutional investors, whom he met in Singapore before his trip to Vietnam, expressed their desire to increase investment the ASEAN region, especially Indonesia and Vietnam because they believe in political stability, security, and economic growth in both nations.

For this reason, Vietnam and Indonesia should further promote trade and investment cooperation in many fields to fully tap the potential.

Rasjid, who is also Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN - BAC) in 2023 said through his trip, which took him to Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, he wants to gain better understanding about the interests and concern of businesses, especially small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), about the ASEAN. Based on the understanding, he and ASEAN-BAC will join relevant agencies in ASEAN countries to build suitable policies to promote economic growth and prosperity throughout the region.

He stressed that ASEAN is currently a bright spot in the global economy with an average growth of 5.5%. In addition, ASEAN countries have performed well in controlling inflation and ensuring political and economic stability. 

However, in order to fully exploit their potential, regional countries need to strengthen connections and boost trade and investment to turn ASEAN into a centre promoting global economic growth, he said, adding that businesses and governments of ASEAN member countries should also step up public-private cooperation to address major issues related to supply shortages, rising food and energy prices, and uncertainties caused by the US – China trade competition and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Rasjid said his trip to Vietnam aims to promote seven legacy breakthrough programmes of ASEAN with five priorities of digital transformation, sustainable development, food security, medical improvement and trade facilitation.

Regarding digital transformation, Indonesia proposes three digitisation programmes focusing on fin-tech and e-commerce including ASEAN QR Code, ASEAN P2P (peer-to-peer) Lending Platform and WIKI Startup, which will focus on supporting MSMEs in accessing necessary financial resources, promoting transactions, reducing cross-border transaction costs for regional payment activities, increasing connection and exchange between regional businesses.

To enhance health resilience, Rasjid introduced the “ASEAN One Shot” campaign, which prioritises the development of a long-term regional vaccination programme, promotes medicine research and production capacity for ASEAN to better cope with future pandemics.

He also proposed the establishment of the ASEAN Net Zero Hub and the Carbon Centre of Excellence, saying that Indonesia wants ASEAN to be part of the global fight against climate change.

For food security, ASEAN-BAC will lead programmes to ensure food security and support farmers, fishermen, and SMEs operating in agriculture and fishery to join the global supply chain.

Indonesia looks to expand agriculture and fishery cooperation with other ASEAN countries, especially with Vietnam after the two countries have completed negotiations on the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), he said.

Rasjid affirmed that his country will continue to coordinate with other ASEAN members to promote economic and trade cooperation activities, and actively support businesses, especially MSMEs, to engage more deeply in business and trade activities in the region.

VNA