VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia and Bangladesh have excellent bilateral relations, especially in terms of strengthening cooperation in industrial sector. This is evident from the value of trade between the two countries. In 2014, the value reached $1.38 billion dollars and this increased to $1.65 billion dollars in 2017. Indonesia's main export commodities to Bangladesh include Crude Palm Oil (CPO), trains and its components, and paper. Meanwhile, the largest import of goods from Bangladesh is yarn. This was disclosed by Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartarto at the 47th Independence Day celebration of Bangladesh in Jakarta on Monday (26/3). On that occasion, Minister Airlangga Hartarto representing the government of Indonesia expressed his appreciation for Bangladesh that has trusted PT Industri Kerata Api (PT INKA) to support the development of Bangladesh connectivity. The railway industry company gradually sends 400 train cars to Bangladesh. The cooperation between PT. INKA and Bangladesh Railway in the purchase of railway cars has been signed since 2017. This will be a milestone of various improvements in cooperation between the two sides in the future. In addition, Minister Airlangga also said that PT Japfa Comfeed Indonesia plans to establish a new factory in Bangladesh that will focus on producing animal feed products. This indicates the stretching of national industry that is able to invest and expand overseas, while also showing its competitiveness in global level. He said that in the future, such cooperation would be directed to establish joint ventures in machinery and maintenance components, as well as technical cooperation or capacity building of Bangladesh's employment. He believes that the opportunities for cooperation between the two countries are still very wide and promising, remembering that there is huge potential of economic growth in Indonesia and Bangladesh. Minister Airlangga Hartarto also said that Indonesia has a large market and a lot of workforce. The government of Indonesia also continues to create a conducive investment climate as well as provide convenience for industry players to run their business. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Ambassador to Indonesia, Azmal Kabir said that Bangladeshi government is very pleased to partner with Indonesia in a hope that the bilateral relationship will increase in the future. He expressed his appreciation to Indonesian President Joko Widodo who visited Bangladesh and met with Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. Ambassador Azmal also stated that besides holding bilateral meeting, President Joko Widodo also visited Rohingya refugees. The arrival of President Joko Widodo to Cox's Bazar also coincided with the provision of assistance from Indonesia in the form of food and medicine.