Zimbabwe: Indonesia Keen to Boost Economic Ties
Africa Moyo — Indonesia is keen to boost trade relations with Zimbabwe and help its re-engagement drive with the rest of the world, the country’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe and Zambia, Dewa Juniarta Sastrawan said yesterday.
In an interview, Ambassador Sastrawan said he was determined to help Zimbabwe revitalise its infrastructure, principally railway infrastructure, as it helps reduce costs when moving goods.
“Basically, I think I came in 2019, my priority was on economic diplomacy and also strengthening development co-operation,” he said.
“These priorities are based on how we see the future of Zimbabwe and the region for Southern Africa. When I presented my credentials to His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, he himself also emphasised on how we should strengthen our relations on economic co-operation and development.”
Ambassador Sastrawan has been encouraging Indonesian companies to take up the vast opportunities available in Zimbabwe.
Key opportunities lay in infrastructure development, with rail infrastructure clearly clamouring for revitalisation.
“Zimbabwe has a railway system that is almost similar to Indonesia’s. For three years before I came here, I was advisor of the Minister of Transport in Indonesia, so with my little knowledge and experience working on this infrastructure, I see how we may work on this here.
“This is big investment and it takes a lot of effort. As Ambassador of Indonesia, I have confidence on how we can work and revitalise the railway infrastructure in Zimbabwe and it will make Zimbabwe flourish again as the hub of the region,” said Ambassador Sastrawan.
It was important to make the NRZ profitable, while establishing a railway academy is a critical long-term goal.
Indonesia already had a railway academy that Ambassador Sastrawan says “operates like a university”, where people enroll and get jobs straight after completing their studies.
He said he deliberately elected to focus on infrastructure development given that by the time he arrived in 2019, Zimbabwe was advancing the Transitional Stabilisation Programme and now the National Development Strategy 1.
Ambassador Sastrawan said Indonesia was willing to support the national goals and Vision 2030, of an empowered upper middle income economy.
“We would like to continue our support for Zimbabwe in NDS1 and later on NDS2. We want to help Zimbabwe achieve Vision 2030.
“We also want to work with Zimbabwe to strengthen the re-engagement drive with the global community. So we are more than ready to do it.”
In terms of the manufacturing sector, Ambassador Sastrawan said Indonesian pharmaceutical companies were interested in setting up base in Zimbabwe.
Given their production capacities, the companies could produce more drugs that may not all be consumed locally, leaving the surplus to be exported in the region, he said.
He said Zimbabwe is a great investment destination due to the availability of infrastructure and a sound tertiary education system that continues to churn out competent graduates across various economic sectors.
Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest producers of crude palm oil and ammonia.
The two commodities are needed in Zimbabwe for cooking oil and petrochemical products, while ammonia is used in the production of ammonium nitrate.
He encouraged Zimbabwean businesses to consider getting all their raw materials from Indonesia since there are lower prices and no middlemen, which also reduces the cost of doing business.
By The Herald.
