The Indonesian government participated in the “Singen-ko Festival 2017” held in the Yamanshi Prefecture, Japan, to promote the tourism sector and investments in Indonesia.
Indonesia was represented by state-owned airline PT Garuda Indonesia, assigned to strengthen the Indonesia-Japan diplomatic relationship.
“The Garuda Indonesia team is led by Garuda Indonesia Commissioner Jusman Syafeii Djamal, accompanied by House of Representatives Commission X member Niko Siahaan, and a number of local celebrities, such as Donna Agnesia, Okky Lukman, Indra Bekti, and Vincent,” Indonesia’s special envoy for investment affairs Rachmat Gobel said on Monday, April 10, 2017.
According to Gobel, Indonesia’s involvement in such cultural festival is a strategic way to strengthen ties between Indonesia and Japan. In addition, Garuda has served Japanese wine products from Yamanase on its flights. Therefore, Gobel said Indonesia must seize the opportunity to attract more Japanese investors.
Data from the Investment Coordinating Agency revealed that Japan is the second largest investor with a total investment value of US$5.4 billion after Singapore in 2016. Japan has made investments in almost all sectors, such as manufacturing, infrastructure and automotive.
In addition, Japan recorded a surplus of USD 25 billion in current trade balance in February 2017, increasing from USD 588.6 million in January. Official data from the Japanese government showed that the surplus increased by 18.2 percent when compared to last year. Bloomberg forecasted that the current account surplus reached USD 22.5 billion.
Japan has maintained its trade balance surplus for years, thanks to positive trade balance and strong revenues from overseas investments.