MOSCOW – Indonesia becomes the only country outside Eurasia which was invited to take part in the Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow from 24 to 25 May 2023. The Forum, which was attended by 2,700 participants from 50 countries, is expected to increase trade relations between Russia and Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and other Eurasian participants.
“Indonesia is the only country outside Eurasia invited to this Forum. GAPKI (Indonesian Palm Oil Association) represents Indonesia during this Forum. This is our chance to promote Indonesian palm oil to the participants from Russia and other Eurasian participants,” GAPKI Chairman Eddy Martono said. He was accompanied by GAPKI Deputy Chairman I Sanny Anthony and GAPKI Foreign Affairs Division Head M.Fadhil Hasan.
According to Eddy Martono, the Eurasian Economic Forum is very important for Indonesia to increase its palm oil exports to Russia and other Eurasian countries. In 2022, the export volume of Indonesia’s palm oil products to Russia reached 668,340 tons. “Indonesia is invited to the Forum to increase cooperation in the fields of tourism, palm oil, and small-medium businesses,” said Eddy Martono.
During a business dialog between EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) and Indonesia, Eddy Martono highlighted the position of Indonesia as the world’s biggest exporter of palm oil products, contributing around 60% of global palm oil export. Producing sustainable palm oil, Indonesia has a total palm oil plantation acreage of 16.38 million hectares, of which around 40% owned by smallholders.
“Besides the world’s biggest palm oil producer, Indonesia is also the world’s biggest consumer of palm oil. Indonesian palm oil products have proven to be sustainable and has functional and nutritional properties for human health,” said Eddy.
The second Eurasian Economic Forum and Economic Council Summit Meeting was organized under the framework of Russian leadership in the Eurasian Economic Union in 2023. It is aimed to increase economic cooperation among countries of Eurasia.
The participants of the business dialog of EAEU-Indonesia discussed about priorities to increase cooperation for development of infrastructure, supply chain, technology that includes digital initiatives, eliminate non-tariff barriers, green issues, and other issues.
There were also other special business dialogs during the proceeding of the Eurasian Forum with Indonesia and countries of Latin America to strengthen economic cooperation. (*)
Source: sawitindonesia.com
