Taiwan and Indonesia inked a memorandum of understanding on comprehensive economic cooperation Nov. 19 in Taipei City, underscoring their commitment to expanding mutually beneficial trade and investment ties.
 
John C. Chen, representative of Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Didi Sumedi, head of Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei, signed the pact on behalf of the two sides.
 
The accord is line with the New Southbound Policy, a key plank of President Tsai Ing-wen’s national development strategy aimed at deepening links across the board with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
 
Under the agreement, the two sides will establish a platform to promote cooperation across a wide range of areas spanning agriculture, infrastructure, investment and trade. Working groups will also be set up to map out specific projects and help Taiwan firms explore business opportunities in Indonesia.
 
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the pact will raise the profile and market share of Taiwan companies while creating jobs and upgrading industrial development in the Southeast Asian nation.
 
One potential area for collaboration is in the technology used to dredge reservoirs, the ministry said. The MOEA’s Water Resources Agency plans to lead a delegation of businesspeople and engineers to Indonesia to explore joint infrastructure projects in this field.
 
Taiwan’s ties with the Southeast Asian country have been going from strength to strength under the NSP, with bilateral trade increasing 14.8 percent to US$8.09 billion in 2017, according to statistics from the MOEA’s Bureau of Foreign Trade. (CPY-E)