The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Harry Purwanto, on Wednesday announced the growing interest of Indonesian companies to increase their presence and products in Nigeria.
Purwanto told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of an Indonesian Business Forum in Lagos, that more Indonesian companies were being attracted to Nigeria for business and Investment.
“There are currently about 30 Indonesian companies doing business in different parts of Nigeria.
“And many are by the day becoming more and more interested in taking advantage of Nigeria’s large market for their products, while many more are interested in investing in Nigeria.
“This is due to the fact that many already existing Indonesian companies in Nigeria, like Indo Foods and others, have today become big players in their sectors in Nigeria,’’ he said..
The Envoy said that his Embassy and the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) in Lagos were working hard at facilitating more opportunities for Indonesian companies and investors in Nigeria.
Purwanto also expressed his government’s readiness to encourage more and more people- to-people business and personal interactions between Nigerians and Indonesians.
He said that the Indonesian Business Forum, which brought Seven new Indonesian companies to Lagos, was meant to create a platform of business interactions between the companies and Nigerians.
“We just received about Seven Indonesian companies to this Indonesian Business Forum in Lagos, with their different products to be introduced to Nigerians.
“Apart from introducing their new food, pharmaceutical, papers, snacks, bathroom accessories and furniture products to Nigerians, they are here to have Nigerian partners.
“These companies are really impressed with the opportunities in Nigeria for their products, and when they get back to their country and share their experiences, more of them would definitely come to Nigeria as well,’’ Purwanto said.
The Ambassador also enjoined Nigerians to attend the forthcoming Indonesia International Trade Expo, scheduled to hold from Oct. 12th to 16th, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Purwanto said that the Expo would afford Nigerians interested in doing businesses with Indonesian companies first-hand opportunities of interacting with more Indonesian product manufacturers.
He also assured Nigerians interested in attending the Expo of his government’s readiness to make its visa conditions more flexible to them.
Purwanto however cautioned that his government would not issue visas to Nigerians that would want to hide under the guise of attending the Expo.
He pointed out that visa applicants to the Expo would be thoroughly investigated before being issued visas