The Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Harry Purwanto has
identified good business opportunities in Nigeria that are of interest to
Indonesian investors...
In an interview with Saturday Vanguard, Mr Purwanto said
already a number of young Indonesian entrepreneurs have already invested in
Nigeria in areas such as aviation, agriculture, mining, refineries and
textiles. He said “as the Indonesian Ambassador, I try to share information on
the potentials of Nigeria to Indonesian business community. Indonesia has a
population of 200 million people, and about 150 million belong to the
middle-income class. The old generation is conservative, they want to focus
more on their businesses in Indonesia while the younger generations are
entrepreneurs, who invest just across the border. However, a number of young
Indonesian entrepreneurs have already invested in Nigeria; they see some
potentials in aviation, agriculture, mining, refineries and textiles. These are
some of the opportunities I have shared with Indonesian business community. I
told them that there are many textile factories which have been idle in Nigeria
for so many years. This year alone, one Indonesian private investor has already
started refining business in Akwa Ibom”. He explained that the Indonesian State
Public Company which is very well known both in and outside Indonesia for tin
mining was interested in tin mining and wanted to open operations in Plateau
State. He expressed optimism that “if this state-owned mining company comes
into Nigeria, it will encourage other Indonesian business companies to come to
Nigeria and do business here as well”. “as the Indonesian Ambassador, I try to
share information on the potentials of Nigeria to Indonesian business
community. Indonesia has a population of 200 million people, and about 150
million belong to the middle-income class. The old generation is conservative,
they want to focus more on their businesses in Indonesia while the younger
generations are entrepreneurs, who invest just across the border. However, a number
of young Indonesian entrepreneurs have already invested in Nigeria; they see
some potentials in aviation, agriculture, mining, refineries and textiles.
These are some of the opportunities I have shared with Indonesian business
community. I told them that there are many textile factories which have been
idle in Nigeria for so many years. This year alone, one Indonesian private
investor has already started refining business in Akwa Ibom”. He explained that
the Indonesian State Public Company which, according to him, is very well known
both in and outside Indonesia for tin mining was interested in tin mining and
wanted to open operations in Plateau State. He expressed optimism that “if this
state-owned mining company comes into Nigeria, it will encourage other
Indonesian business companies to come to Nigeria and do business here as well”.
The relationship between Nigeria and Indonesia, he stressed has been very
cordial which informed some bilateral engagements between the two countries. He
said two weeks ago, Indonesian Foreign Minister visited Nigeria and introduced
about 25 Indonesian companies before holding a bilateral meeting with Nigerian
Minister of Foreign Affairs. He added that, “very soon we will have another
Indonesian minister, the Minister of Trade, coming to Nigeria to officially
open the Indonesia Bilateral Economic Forum between Nigeria and Indonesia in
Lagos. We also see some exchange of visits between the two countries. A
delegation of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) visited
Indonesia in June and met with their counterparts, the Indonesia drug agency,
and I think they are discussing on how to cooperate with regards to tackling
drug-related crimes. “The Indonesian President has also invited President
Muhammadu Buhari to visit Indonesia this year while expressing his desire to
also visit Nigeria sometimes this year or next year. Indonesia is also going to
organize an African forum next year because our foreign policy is to enhance
and deepen our relationship with Africa. That is why we have some very
important persons and government officials coming into this country”. On the
socio-cultural sector, the Indonesian envoy explained that Indonesia provided
scholarships for young Nigerians to study culture and other courses in Indonesia
noting that between five and 10 Nigerians get the scholarships every year. “For
us in Indonesia, we are ready for any collaboration or cooperation with
Nigeria. Actually, I have noticed that there are some collaborations between
Indonesian and Nigerian artistes. They do meet annually in Indonesia and
afterwards in Nigeria”, he said
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