Indian Ambassador Gurjit Singh will bid farewell to Jakarta on Wednesday. On a parting note, he observed that successor would have to focus on strengthening of business-to-business relationships, and boosting tourism and education cooperation.
“We have had a very good intergovernmental [relationship], what we are lacking is a stronger B-to-B relationship. India-Indonesia trade records about $20 billion per year, with Indonesia posts a surplus $10 billion,” he said in an interview recently.
Singh has served as ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste for more than three years.
“There’s still a huge room to grow, India is [among] the biggest buyers of coal and palm oil … But how can we move from commodities?” Singh said.
Bilateral trade between India and Indonesia stood at $20 billion last year. Meanwhile, the bulk of India’s exports to Indonesia consists of refined petroleum products, maize, commercial vehicles, telecommunication equipment, oil seeds, animal feed, cotton, steel products, plastics and pharmaceuticals in bulk and formulations.
He said India planned to develop 100 “smart cities” and that the country’s commitment during the last G-20 meeting to build renewable power capacities of up to 175 gigawatts by 2022 would cut fossil fuel use and help reduce the carbon print of the nation.
“All companies that come in the 1970s in the last two years have reinvested here, while Indonesian companies have little investment in India,” he said.