VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held a meeting with several Vietnamese businesspersons in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday to drive greater two-way investment between both nations.

At a meeting with Traveloka Country Market Manager for Vietnam Huynh May Thy, the minister vowed to encourage Indonesian airline companies to open a direct flight route between Indonesia and Vietnam.

"I have communicated and will continue to do the same with the Vietnamese foreign minister to facilitate licensing of the direct flight route for Indonesian airline companies," she noted in a written statement released on Thursday.

Moreover, the government has encouraged ways to boost air connectivity between Indonesia and Vietnam by launching a direct route connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Bali in 2019.

The new direct flight route has contributed to a 20-percent increase in the number of Indonesian tourists visiting Vietnam and a 21-percent rise in the number of Vietnamese tourists to Indonesia.

Traveloka pointed to the limited choices of direct flights contributing to steep air tickets. It is believed that the opening of the direct flight route by the Indonesian airline company will have a noteworthy impact on the number of tourist arrivals.

In the meantime, at a meeting with General Director of Hai Nam Co. Ltd Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, the Indonesian minister vowed to encourage Indonesian fishery companies to step up their exports to Vietnam.

Last year, Ha Nam Co. Ltd had imported fishery products, valued at nearly US$2.5 million, from Indonesia. "Apart from increasing its Indonesian fishery products, Indonesia also expects Hai Nam Co. Ltd. to make a joint venture investment with an Indonesian company to build a fish processing plant in Indonesia," the minister noted.

To this end, the Indonesian government has invited the chairman of Hai Nam Co. Ltd. to visit Indonesia to witness up-close the fishery potential in several areas, including Natuna.

Traveloka began expanding its business in several Southeast Asian nations in 2015, making it one of the Indonesian unicorns expanding its business in Vietnam. Traveloka continues to dominate the market for online-based travel applications, with high demand in the aviation sector.

Hai Nam Co., Ltd is a private fishery company established in 1982. It currently employs some 2,500 workers and exports seafood to the United States, Japan, Europe, and Taiwan. (ANTARA)