President of Niger to Visit Indonesia

Jakarta, MINA – President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou is scheduled to pay a state visit to Indonesia from October 15-17, 2017.

During a press briefing here, Friday, Arrmanatha Nasir, spokesperson of Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou would be received by President Joko Widodo, Monday, October 16.

The visit of President Issoufou to Indonesia will be his first since the two countries started diplomatic ties in 2011, Nasir noted.

“One of the main issues to discuss is Indonesia’s eagerness to have cooperation with ECOWAS,” Nasir stated.

ECOWAS or the Economic Community of West African States comprises 15 states and has defined the region of West Africa since 1999.

Promoting products of strategic industry

Indonesia is eager to intensify its relation with African countries, especially in the economic sector.

African countries have great potential in the economic sector, with an average of 5-6 percent economic growth.

Several large Indonesian companies producing instant noodles and soaps have entered the African market.

Indonesia, therefore, wanted to promote its other products in Africa, namely products of strategic industry such as airplanes and trains.

Moreover, the two countries were expected to discuss cooperation in counter-terrorism and also in capacity building program.

Niger is still categorized as a least developed country. The cooperation in capacity building will enable Indonesia to provide assistance or technical cooperation in several sectors, such as agriculture, farming, education, and human resource development, among others, Nasir remarked.

The trade volume between Indonesia and Niger is still low, which reached only US$9.7 million last year. Most of these were Indonesias crude palm oil (CPO).

During the bilateral meeting with Niger, some agreements are expected to be inked, such as free visa for diplomatic and official passport holders, and the establishment of bilateral relation mechanism in the form of joint commission of Indonesia-Niger. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj IslamicNews Agency (MINA)