India offers $500 million loan to Indonesia for its power sector
Ambassador of India, Mr. Gurjit Singh (R) called on Vice-President of Indonesia Mr. Jusuf Kalla on 12 January 2015 (Pic source – Govt. of India)Indonesia has accepted a soft loan of $500 million offered by India for investments in Indonesia’s power infrastructure. Gurjit Singh, Ambassador of India, met Jusuf Kalla, Vice-President, Indonesia this week to exchange ideas on socio-economic conditions and for charting development paths where both new governments are engaged. Indonesia’s Kalla has said that the government will use the loan for funding suitable projects in power infrastructure. According to studies, Indonesia’s power sector is expected to grow by around 7.5% in 2015 and is a focus sector of the government in its plans to improve manufacturing and boost trade. During the meeting with Indonesia’s Vice-President, Singh reiterated the contribution of Indian companies to the economic development of Indonesia through infrastructure development, manufacturing, mining and employment opportunities created. Indonesia is a major trading partner of India. In 2013-14, bilateral trade between the countries stood at around $20 billion and investments stood at around $15 billion. Edible oil, mineral fuels, rubber, wood and ships are main imports from Indonesia, while India’s exports to Indonesia mainly comprise oils, rice, cotton, and iron and steel. However, India runs a huge trade deficit of around $10 billion with Indonesia. In the recent meeting, the two countries have agreed to intensify economic cooperation between the two countries through utilising the improvement in investment procedures being introduced, the speedy redressal of disputes, strengthening of B2B interaction, and participation of companies in trade fairs. The two sides have also agreed to review and implement various MOUs signed between both sides. Singh and Kalla also stressed on the need to devise new initiatives to involve the younger generation of both countries understand the importance of India-Indonesia economic and bilateral ties.
This article was published on January 14, 2015.
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