A Correspondent:
JAKARTA, Indonesia: President Mohammed Shahabuddin yesterday said business and trade can play a vital role in promoting peace and stability in the South East Asia region as he spoke at a presentation ceremony of Indonesian three state-owned Strategic Manufacturing Companies here.
“Let us continue to explore new avenues of collaboration and partnership and build a stronger, more vi-brant relationship between our two great nations,” the President told at the presentation ceremony of three state-owned companies – PT Pindad, PT Dirgantara Indonesia and PT PAL at his place of residence at Jakarta.
The three companies’ representatives, as Head of Research and Development of the Ministry of Defence presented plans through a power-point presentation for integrated defence industry development in ac-cordance with the focus of the Indonesian government.
They delivered a presentation and study regarding plans for developing the defense industry in disaster-prone areas.
President Shahabuddin, in his speech, stated that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972 under the charismatic leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangla-desh and Indonesia have been maintaining excellent bilateral ties.
“We admire the remarkable stability and socio-economic development achieved by Indonesia in the meantime,” he said, paying rich tribute to the visionary leader and President Sukarno for his vision for winning independence and socio-economic emancipation of Indonesia.
Noting that Indonesia is an important trade partner of Bangladesh in the ASEAN region, the President said, “Our bilateral trade has been increasing over the years … and we see great potential to further en-hance our bilateral trade and investment, given our complementary strengths and resources.”
During the FY 2022-23, Bangladesh imported Indonesian goods worth approximately $3360.50 million against an export volume of a mere $63.70 million, he mentioned.
The Head of the State hoped to look forward to concluding the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) as soon as possible to further enhance and diversify our strategic economic relations.
Mentioning Bangladesh as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, he said Bangladesh is con-tinuously working to create a business-friendly environment for foreign investors.
“Our strategic location at the crossroads of South Asia and Southeast Asia makes us an attractive destina-tion for investment and trade,” the President added.
He also thanked the presenters and all concerned of the three state-owned companies for their wonderful and informative presentation.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, secretaries concerned to Bangabhaban and senior civil and mili-tary officials concerned were present there.
