SIBU: Sarawak and Indonesia’s close cooperation in commerce will get a boost once the latter’s capital moves from Jakarta to Nusantara.

       Raden Sigit Witjaksono, Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuching, said four to five ministries will move to the new capital by 2024.

       He told a dialogue session with the Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) here on Friday (March 18) that construction work on the new capital had already started.

       “The new capital is in East Kalimantan. ‘Nu’ in Indonesia means island as we have over 17,000 islands while ‘Santara’ means it is at the centre of Kalimantan,” he said.

       According to Witjaksono, Nusantara has tremendous potential for cooperation and networking with Sarawak thanks to its proximity.

       “We can grow together as we are near Sarawak together with Sabah and Brunei,” he said.

       He added that some of these areas of cooperation included infrastructure, telecommunications, shipbuilding, logistics, tourism and food industries.

       “We can from now on, with common spirit, develop together for our common future. We need to be interconnected and interdependent,” he said.

       Wijaksono said his country was ready to supply Sarawak with its manpower needs especially in the plantation sector once the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the recruitment and placement of Indonesian domestic workers is completed.

       “We not only can forge cooperation in trade but also on manpower needs for industry especially with the proposed opening of the Malaysian border on April 1.

       “The MOU on the recruitment of Indonesian workers is also in the final stage now,” he said.

       SCCCI president Datuk Lau Cheng Kiong said the state and Indonesia should strive to enhance and consolidate the foundation of regional cooperation and work to create a strong, autonomous and independent community.

       “Being a close neighbor, we have similar culture and understand (each other’s) languages quite well.

       “This is definitely a big advantage and gives rise to ample opportunities and potential for trading activities and tourism-related investment.

       “The establishment of trading activities will be mutually beneficial to businesses, especially small and medium industries,” he said.