Indonesia and Singapore have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in developing the competitive edge of the industrial sector, ranging from increasing investment to implementing vocational education to encourage economic growth in the two neighboring nations.
The two nations have established cooperation in encouraging the application of industry 4.0 as reflected by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Industrial Research and Development Board (BPPI) of the Industry Ministry and Enterprise Singapore during the Indonesia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat held on the sidelines of the IMF Annual Meeting in Bali in October 2018.
The net foreign inflow of portfolio investment to domestic financial markets in the fourth quarter of 2019 stood at US$6.36 billion, up from US$4.88 billion in the third quarter of 2019.
In the investment field, there are several potential areas of cooperation that the two countries can establish, including encouraging Singapore's investment in the infrastructure sector to support industrial and regional connectivity.
Singapore remained the largest investor in Indonesia in the first half of last year, with US$3.4 billion investment.
The other area of cooperation is the development of integrated industrial zones including the Kendal Industrial Estate in Central Java, Kuala Tanjung in North Sumatra, Tanah Kuning in North Kalimantan and Bitung in North Sulawesi.
(source: Antara News)