Meeting the Minister of Singapore, Airlangga Hartarto Discusses Two New KEKs in Batam

The two Ministers also saw the potential for increased investment, especially in the digital economy, smart cities, financial technology and digital technology-oriented start-ups.

Indonesia can learn from other countries that have made further progress in this area.

So that one of the important areas of cooperation being developed by the two countries is related to the digital economy and training of young talents in the technology sector. 

According to Airlangga, in 2019 Singapore was the third largest trading partner for Indonesia and Indonesia was the sixth largest trading partner for Singapore.

In terms of investment, Singapore was the main source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for Indonesia during the 2014-2019 period with a total investment of USD 6.5 billion in 2019.

In the tourism sector, there were 1.61 million Singaporean tourists visiting Indonesia in 2019. 

In the midst of a downward trend in the economy and the global crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a growth in the value of investment coming from Singapore to Indonesia. 

As of the second quarter (Q2) 2020, there was an increase in investment value of 36.19% (4.67 billion USD) compared to the same period in 2019 (3.43 billion USD). 

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Meanwhile, from the trade side, it is true that the economic slowdown has occurred, both globally and regionally. 

By limiting the mobility of people, tourism is a sector that is negatively affected.

As of June 2020, it was recorded that 267,676 people entered Indonesia from Singapore.

This number has decreased by 70.9% compared to the same period in 2019 of 919,863 people. 

"This meeting was held during the Covid-19 pandemic, so the implementation was done virtually.

However, this does not reduce the importance and strategic value of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the economic sector related to the acceleration of post-pandemic economic recovery, "said Airlangga.

(Tribunbatam.id/Rebekha Ashari Diana Putri) 

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