SPEECHES  

REMARKS OF THE INDONESIAN AMBASSADOR
H.E. RAHARDJO DJOJONEGORO
AT THE INDONESIA-BRUNEI BUSINESS MEETING,
 FEBRUARY 7^TH 1999.

 

Assalamualaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarakatuh,
Pg. Hj. Rahman bin Pg Hj Abas, Head of Brunei Delegation,
Dato Paduka Hj AA Hapdg Laksamana,
Bapak Sy M Pardede, Head of Indonesian Delegation,
Bapak Imam Taufik, Special Envoy of Indonesia
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and gentlement,

It is my distinct pleasure to be present at this important gathering of the Indonesia - Brunei Business Meeting organized by the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Brunei Darussalam and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  I should therefore like to convey my sincere thanks and appreciation to the National Chamber and Industry Brunei Darussalam and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for taking this important and timely initiative, and especially, to all of you and your respective companies for your interest and participation in this activity.

Indonesia and Brunei enjoy an excellent bilateral relations in all aspects. The cooperation between our two countries have been growing in many fields and still pleasing as in the past year. Contacts and visits between the two officials have continued to increase. It is worth noting that the visits by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam to Indonesia on September 1998 and His Majesty's meeting with President B.J. Habibie during the 6th ASEAN Summit Conference in Hanoi, has further led the two leaders to strengthen bilateral ties of the two countries.

In the area of trade and economic cooperation, it is also continued to increase year by year.  I am most grateful that friendly relations and mutual cooperation between the two nations become closer and intimate. I am therefore strongly confident that fraternal bonds between the two nations, Insya Allah, will ever grow healthily in the year to come.

Distinguished Participants, 

What is our task ahead ? The task ahead is to bring us to the new challenges. To meet them we have to ensure that our markets and our investment climate is competitive in order to attract foreign investment. We are well aware that we cannot handle the task of moving towards the next century on our own and that we will need considerable support from the outside world. 

Presently, Indonesia will rely more on the private sector to achieve our goals than we have in the past. The government itself cannot hope to meet the enormous requirements for finance that this development demands. We will do our part, and we are inviting foreign partners to participate in Indonesia development. To meet this end, we have thrown open our doors to investment, creating one of the most conducive climates for foreign investment in the whole of Asia. We have removed virtually all barriers to entry to important infrastructure areas and these represent enormous opportunities. Accordingly, there are many important development areas which are now easily accessible to foreign investors. 

Considering that the foreign investment community requires good information on which to base its decisions, allow me to reiterate that this activity is undoubtedly an excellent forum to find the right opportunities for the mutual benefit of prominent businessmen such as yourselves.

Distinguished participants, 

We are indeed very fortunate to have with us prominent businessmen from Indonesia   Mr. IMAM TAUFIK, Special Envoy of the President of The Republic of Indonesia to ASEAN Countries. His presence today reflects the strong commitment of the Indonesian Government as well as the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to make Indonesia an attractive place to do business. I am sure that Mr. Imam Taufik will brief us with the most recent developments of Indonesia's business situation and will further elaborate opportunities that Indonesia could offer to the Brunei Darussalam business community in the field of investment, as part of the effort to promote and expand investment relations between Indonesia and Brunei.

Since direct contact and face-to-face discussion is still the most effective way of learning about the investment climate in Indonesia, I do hope that you will have a better understanding and a clearer picture on the opportunities that Indonesia can offer as your ideal business location. 

To conclude my remarks, I would like to once again take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and thanks to all the sponsors and participants, especially to the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Brunei Darussalam for their solid support, contribution and cooperation to this Indonesian-Brunei Business Meeting. I am confident that this meeting will help provide valuable information which will boost economic cooperation. 

I wish you all success and thank you. 

Wassalamualaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarakatuh.