Ali bin Abdulatif Al Misnad (right), Board Member and Honorary Treasurer of QC; shake hands with Helmy Shebubakar, Vice-Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, during the Qatari-Indonesian Business Forum, at Qatar Chamber head quarters, yesterday.
The volume of bilateral trade between Qatar and Indonesia reached QR1.8bn in 2016, which is expected to surge further in the coming days as both sides are working closely to expand and deepen the level of bilateral cooperation, said a top official of Qatar Chamber (QC) at a forum yesterday.
Companies from both sides are also working to establish partnership agreements and joint ventures to participate in the implementation of several developmental projects in Qatar and beyond for mutual benefits.
Indonesia is one of Qatar’s favourite destinations for investment. Qatari investments in Indonesia include Nebras Power, Indosat , and a QNB branch.
QC, the country’s largest and oldest private industry representative body hosted the Qatari-Indonesian Business Forum at its headquarters, which was attended by prominent Qatari businessmen, the visiting members of trade delegation from the South-East Asian nation, and representatives from local businesses from both side.
Helmy Shebubakar, Vice-Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, headed the Indonesian side.
Ali bin Abdulatif Al Misnad, Board Member and Honorary Treasurer of QC, in his welcome address at the meeting, said: “I wish your visit ends with fruitful outcomes and contributes to fostering relations of the private sectors in both friendly countries.
I’d like also to thank all Qatari businessmen who joined us today to look for new horizons of cooperation with their Indonesian counterparts.”
Al Misnad added that Indonesia is one of Qatar’s most important countries in South-East Asia region.
Negotiations for many infrastructure projects in roads, power plants, ports, mining, and communications are underway.
A couple of months ago, the Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani paid a very successful visit to Indonesia, where a bevy of agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed in many fields.
On the sidelines of the visit, and during the Qatari-Indonesian Economic Forum an MoU was signed between Qatar and Indonesian Chambers for future cooperation.
“There is doubt that Qatar has successfully managed to overcome the impacts of the unfair siege imposed by some of the Gulf countries thanks to the strong Qatari economy and its external relations with friendly countries, such as Indonesia, Qatar dealt with the crisis very quickly.
New direct marine routes are launched to connect Hamad Port with several ports in the world,” noted Al Misnad.
He added that the private sector played a key role in the siege. Qatari businessmen exerted great efforts to find alternative sources to ensure the continuing flow of goods without any interruption.
He reiterated that the siege didn’t affect Qatar’s ongoing developmental activities, including the Qatar’s mega projects. All construction works for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and infrastructure projects are progressing normally as per the schedule.
Al Misnad also said that the Chamber is pleased to welcome Indonesian companies to take part in these projects and urged both countries businessmen to establish joint ventures that benefit both countries’ economies. There are a wide range of cooperation opportunities between us.
