Trade between Nigeria and Indonesia reached $2.6 billion in 2021 as the two countries announced plans to deepen their trade relationship.
Chairman of the Nigerian Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI), Ishmael Balogun during a press conference to announce the Nigerian Indonesian Investment Trade Forum, 2022 scheduled for 17-27 October 2022 at Jakarta said the investment summit would explore areas of investment where the two countries can benefit from the two countries’ attempt to strengthen trade ties.
Balogun said Nigeria and Indonesia have enjoyed strong bilateral trade relations since 1960, saying the main reason for hosting the business forum is to attract foreign investment to Nigeria.
He said that to achieve this feat, the chamber partnered with the Nigerian Indonesian Investment Promotion Commission.
“We did it because we know very clearly what we want to achieve. We want to tell the Indonesian government that we have checked the companies in Nigeria that they can do business with and they can rest assured that whatever they do will be fine.
He said the Chamber is also partnering with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to showcase Nigerian non-oil exports to Indonesia and the world at large.
He said the trade value of the 2021 trade expo was about $6.6 billion and the expo attracted more than 15,000 exhibitors.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Ambassador Usman Ogeh said the two countries have similarities in terms of natural resources but stressed the need for the two countries to deepen their trade relations to develop their natural resources.
He urged participants attending the forum to use the summit to transform their businesses while promoting the good image of credible Nigerian businesses.
Indonesian Trade Promotion Council (ITPC) Director Hendro Jonathan said Indonesia had maintained 4% growth over the past five years despite the pandemic, adding that the Indonesian economy was resilient and ready to do business with Nigeria.
He praised the Nigerian government for promoting non-oil exports, saying that Nigeria’s total exports to Indonesia are almost 10 times larger than Indonesia’s exports to Nigeria.
“These are mostly crude oil products, but non-oil exports are up more than 46% since January to date,” he said.
He urged interested attendees to register for the expo online, adding that the expo is the first international expo the country has hosted since the pandemic outbreak.
