Ethiopia is a strategic partner for Indonesia in all kinds of cooperation, and the number of Indonesian companies interested in engaging in the country has been increasing, Indonesia’s Ambassador Al Busyra Basnur said.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, the ambassador said “I see the light in the sky that the future economic cooperation between Ethiopian businessmen and Indonesian businessmen and Ethiopia and Indonesia in general is going to be great.”
Ambassador Basnur added that he has done his best to engage with more Ethiopian businessmen and also Indonesian businessmen to connect them through various ways.
According to the ambassador, there are a lot of Indonesian companies and businessmen coming to visit Ethiopia and many of them are interested to invest in the country, especially in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage sectors.
At the same time, many Ethiopian businessmen are traveling to Indonesia and “I am very happy to see their interest and spirit to encourage economic cooperation between our two countries,” he added.
The ambassador revealed that last year, for instance, about 80 Ethiopian businessmen went to Indonesia to visit the Indonesian trade expo and the Ethiopian delegation was the largest ever delegation from African countries.
Ambassador Basnur also said that Indonesian companies will be visiting Ethiopia next month. The companies come to invest and trade with the second most populous country in Africa.
Praising the ever strengthened relation between the two countries, he stated that his role as the Ambassador of Indonesia is to connect the people, businessmen and the countries.
Commenting on the business environment and the economic reform in Ethiopia, Ambassador Basnur said that “I really appreciate the policy taken by the Government of Ethiopia and the economic programs.”
He believes that the policy opens wide and great opportunities for foreign businessmen to come to Ethiopia to invest and the role of industrial parks is really good.
“Opening up the economic sector is really timely, and it is an important decision taken by the Government of Ethiopia. Indonesia will participate and I will inform all Indonesian businessmen about the great opportunity in Ethiopia to increase bilateral economic cooperation and also investment.”
Indonesia imports cotton, leather, spices, and coffee from Ethiopia, while Ethiopia imports soap and detergent, palm oil and its derivatives, paper, yarn, electronic devices, margarine, and furniture products, among others.
Diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Indonesia started in 1961.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency