Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia and Taiwan continue to increase the cooperation in the industrial sector to drive economic growth for both parties, one of which is through the Indonesia-Taiwan Industrial Collaboration Forum (ITICF).

"We hope that Indonesia and Taiwan can grow together in an effort to develop the manufacturing industry sector, especially in the high-tech sector," Indonesian Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said in his statement after attending the opening of the 4th ITICF in Jakarta on Tuesday (Oct. 12).

According to him, the collaboration between Indonesia and Taiwan in the industrial sector within the ITICF framework has been ongoing since 2017 through several sub-forums, including those on shipbuilding, Internet of Things (IOT), food and biotechnology, and metal processing.

The 4th ITICF is a continuation of a similar one which was held in December 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan, aiming to share knowledge and experiences on development of the industrial sector of the two parties.

Agus is optimistic that the cooperation between Indonesia and Taiwan in the industrial sector will accelerate economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, and contribute significantly to improving people's welfare.

Meanwhile, Director General of Resilience, Territorial and International Industrial Access at the ministry, Eko S.A. Cahyanto, said that the 4th ITICF focused on strengthening and accelerating the collaboration between the Indonesian and Taiwanese industrial sectors, and making Indonesia a production base for the industries of both parties.

At the 4th ITICF, two memorandum of understanding (MoU) were also signed as a real effort to enhance the collaboration in the industrial development, Eko said.

The MoUs are exploring opportunity to use seaweeds or their processing-by-products in the food or agricultural sectors. First, the MoU was signed by Indonesia’s PT Hakiki Donarta, and Taiwan’s Kings Ground BioTechCo. Ltd and the Food Industry Research and Development Institute (FIRDI). The MoU on industry-academia cooperation project and on-the-job training courses was signed by Kampuh Welding and National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST).

"We have high expectations that the cooperation will soon be followed by concrete actions to provide benefits and added value for the parties in particular, and the industrial sector in general," Eko said.

Reporting by Indonesia Window