“There are many things that can be explored and developed in the trade relations between Indonesia and Bangladesh. Moreover, the two countries have a number of similarities and a large market, which has more than 400 million people with a Muslim majority.”

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia has the opportunity to increase a number of its export products to Bangladesh, the country’s Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said in a meeting with the United States-Bangladesh Business Community in Queens, New York, on Oct.7.

The active role of all relevant parties, including the business community, is necessary in enhancing trade relations in the global market, including with South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, the minister said in a statement released by the Trade Ministry on Monday.

“There are many things that can be explored and developed in the trade relations between Indonesia and Bangladesh. Moreover, the two countries have a number of similarities and a large market, which has more than 400 million people with a Muslim majority,” Zulkifli noted.

The ministry is committed to realizing the development of bilateral trade relations by exploring the agreement negotiations between Indonesia and Bangladesh to increase the value of trade transactions through import duty rate reduction and trade preferences, he said.

The meeting also discussed various things that pose obstacles in the trade relations between Indonesia and Bangladesh, including those on  application for visas/business visas, the limited number of flights, and the fact that the two countries still not intensively observe the opportunities and advantages of each country.

Responding to this, Zulkifli conveyed a number of strategies to increase Indonesia's trade that focuses on developing potential export products to Bangladesh such as energy, machinery, technology, and halal products.

The next strategy is to maintain products that have a strong market share in Bangladesh, and increase the market share of products that need to be recovered.

According to the minister, the business community is one of the important factors in responding to a number of challenges that are still faced by business people today.

On this occasion, Zulkifli also invited business people to attend the 37th Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) and the Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week (JMFW) which will be held on Oct. 19-23, 2022 at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in Tangerang district, Banten province.

“TEI 2022 is the largest international trade fair in Indonesia. At this exhibition, Indonesia’s various products with prime quality will be displayed," the minister said.

The exhibition can be a means to know Indonesia's flagship and potential products, as well as to meet the needs or demands for imported products from Bangladesh, Zulkifli added.

The trade value between Indonesia and Bangladesh in the January-August 2022 period was recorded at 2.51 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 36.16 percent over the same period in the previous year.

Of this value, Indonesia's exports to Bangladesh amounted to 2.44 billion dollars with leading export commodities including palm oil, coal, cement, chemicals, pulp, and cotton.

Indonesia's imports from Bangladesh amounted to 68.50 million dollars, and the total trade value of the two countries in 2021 recorded a surplus for Indonesia of 2.82 billion dollars.

The trade surplus was obtained from the value of Indonesia's exports to Bangladesh of 2.92 billion dollars and Indonesia's imports from Bangladesh of 108.17 million dollars.

Reporting by Indonesia Window