RI-Sri Lanka Establishes Partnerships in the Railway Industry to Clothing Sector

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are determined to strengthen cooperation in the industrial sector to increase economic growth of the two countries.

This agreement is the result of a meeting between President Joko Widodo and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN in Hanoi, Vietnam.

"Of course there are many business opportunities that can be utilized by Indonesia through partnerships with Sri Lanka, such as in the railroad industry sector," said Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto according to his official statement received in Jakarta on Thursday (09/13/2018).

According to the Minister of Industry, the government has offered the Complete Package cooperation to Sri Lanka to build railway facilities and infrastructure in the country.

"So it is not only to sell railroad cars, but also to offer signaling systems, rails, to depots and stations," he said.

On that occasion also discussed the follow-up of Sri Lanka's plan to buy 60 railroad cars produced by PT INKA.

"This is one of President Jokowi's commitments so that Indonesia can participate in infrastructure development in Sri Lanka," said Airlangga.

Minister Airlangga said that Indonesia is currently one of the biggest players in the manufacturing of railway facilities in Southeast Asia. Domestic railroad industry products have been able to fulfill domestic, even overseas market orders, especially in developing countries and regional regions.

"We continue to spur the national railway industry in order to dominate the domestic market and increasingly play a role in the supply chain of the railroad industry for the global market," he said.

For this reason, the Ministry of Industry has encouraged PT. INKA continues to carry out coaching activities for small and medium scale component industries so as to produce products of a standard quality and can be used in the railroad industry.

The Minister of Industry said that the domestic railway supporting industry was able to produce around 70 percent of the total component requirements, including the railroad frame.

"We hope that in the next two to three years, the industry will be able to reach 80 percent of the total needs," he said.

In addition to the railroad sector, the Governments of Indonesia and Sri Lanka also followed up on previous agreements in the trade sector. One of them is the joint efforts of the two countries to export ready-made garments to the European Union.

Attempts to jointly submit to the European Commission regarding the delivery of apparel will open market access to the European Union.

"We must continue our intensive approach so that the proposal can be accepted by the European Union," said President Jokowi.

Based on Making Indonesia 4.0, the textile and textile products industry (TPT) is one of five manufacturing sectors that are being prioritized as pioneers in the road map for the application of the fourth industrial revolution.

Because the national textile industry has high competitiveness because its manufacturing structure has been integrated from upstream to downstream and its products are also known to have good quality in the international market.

The Ministry of Industry noted that 30 percent of ready-made garments from the national textile industry are to meet the needs of the domestic market, while 70 percent is for export. The export value of the national textile industry reached USD 12.58 billion in 2017, up 6 percent over the previous year. In addition, this sector contributes to GDP of Rp150.43 trillion in 2017.

President Jokowi also hopes that the formation of working groups between the two countries can be realized soon to identify potential and overcome obstacles in trade and investment.

"We must encourage that the initial meeting of the working group can be carried out as soon as possible," he said.

To PM Ranil, Jokowi also encouraged that a joint feasibility study related to efforts to establish a free trade agreement (FTA) between RI and Sri Lanka could begin immediately.

Also attending were President Jokowi at the meeting, namely the Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara, and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung.