Bilateral trade between Indonesia and Brunei far from expectation: ambassador

Trade results between Indonesia and Brunei are far from expectation but several efforts have been undertaken to optimize bilateral trade, Nurul Qomar, Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei said.

Bilateral economic and trade ties fluctuate from year to year, the envoy was quoted as saying Wednesday.

At a gathering to discuss the progress and challenges in bilateral economic and trade relations, the ambassador admitted that results achieved so far are far from expectation.

Compared with 262.2 million Brunei dollars (181.3 million US dollars) in bilateral trade last year, in the first nine months of this year, total trade between the two countries stood at 160.5 million Brunei dollars, with a trade surplus of 11.36 million Brunei dollars in favour of Indonesia.

Eko Himawan, minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy, highlighted activities that have taken place to boost trade ties between Brunei and Indonesia including the Consumer Fair, Brunei International Trade and Consumer Exhibition and Trade Expo in Jakarta, which saw participation of entrepreneurs from both countries. Endit