China will play an important economic role in ongoing century, predicts Indonesian envoy

Gwadar Pro

Islamabad: Ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan Adam Mulawarman Tugio has said that China will play an important economic role in the ongoing century.

Addressing the consultative seminar for the promotion of bilateral tourism with tourist agents and journalists here, the Indonesian envoy maintained that “this is the century of Asian region in which the next Southeast Asia, Pacific Asia, Central Asia and China will play an important role in the global economy and trade.”

The Ambassador opined that emerging economies like Pakistan could, on the one hand, link global trade with Central Asian countries, and on the other hand, its geographical link with western China could be beneficial to Indonesia and South Asian and Association of East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

He emphasized that Pakistan and Indonesia trade and goods agreement is being negotiated and was likely to be implemented soon for increased trade activities.

“Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) already exists between the two countries and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is also being reviewed,” he pointed out.

The envoy hoped that Pakistan-Indonesia economic cooperation could open new avenues for cooperation between ASEAN countries.

Ambassador Tugio stressed that Pakistan and Indonesia have historical religious, political, diplomatic and economic ties, which can be used to further strengthen economic and trade ties between the two countries.

“Indonesia emerged as the only economy of US$ 1 trillion in ASEAN and Islamic world and both of the countries have great potential for cooperation in all fields including tourism, trade, e-commerce and defense,” he reminded.

The envoy underlined that cooperation in the tourism sector on both sides could introduce new dimensions in the promotion of mutual tourism.

The Ambassador said the two countries could lay a new foundation for relations by promoting cooperation in the tourism and services sector.

Ambassador Tugio contended that Pakistan and Indonesia were among the most beautiful countries in the world and with the promotion of tourism, mutual economic activities would reach its peak.

He stated that the huge market of ASEAN countries with a population of 650 million has huge economic opportunities for Pakistan.

He informed that Indonesia was a diverse society, where all religions and cultures were respected. There are many Buddhist places of worship in Pakistan too, he added.

In addition, he mentioned, Pakistan is an emerging country in the field of information and local youth have a lot of expertise in this field.

Tugio said that global retail e-commerce sales in 2020 stood at US $ 4.28 trillion, which is expected to reach US$ 5.4 trillion by 2022.

He indicated that Indonesia had set a US$50 billion e-commerce trade target by 2025 to connect with the biggest sector of global trade.