Saturday, May 24, 2008 Indon's North Sulawesi wants stronger ties with Mindanao
THE Sulawesi Province of Indonesia is eyeing on further strengthening trade and tourism ties with Mindanao, particularly Davao and General Santos cities.
"We would like to explore more collaboration and complementation with North Sulawesi and Mindanao as we have a lot in common and our areas are close to each other," said Dr. Shelley Sondakh, head of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (Bimp-Eaga) Secretariat in North Sulawesi.
She said the prospect of doing more trade with Mindanao came as a result of the recent trade mission of North Sulawesi transportation, SME, fisheries, trade and industry government and private sector representatives.
Sondakh, who headed the 16-member delegation, added that although there are similar commodities in both areas, complementation could be explored. For instance, in the coconut industry, Indonesia can provide coconut shells for charcoal production.
Angel Puentespina, president of the Davao Association of Travel Agencies (Data) said that both countries could take advantage with the boost in local tourism particularly in Bimp-Eaga through tourism packaging.
Puentespina is referring to the initiative of Bimp-Eaga tourism and airline players who converged here last February to develop tour packages that promote Eaga destinations to intra and extra-Eaga markets that will further boost tourism and air travel in the sub-region.
Sondakh said that they also want the Merpati Airlines' Davao-Manado flight to be regularized to at least once a week, as this will strengthen the link between the two areas. Currently, the flight between Manado and Davao city flies on chartered basis.
North Sulawesi is also looking at education particularly in the area of English proficiency, as an opportunity for business engagement with Mindanao.
Last April 16, the Jose Abad Santos-Glan-Sarangani Cooperation Triangle (Jags-CT), a small economic grouping in Southern Mindanao under Eaga, signed an agreement with the Sangihe Regency, also in North Sulawesi, to enhance English proficiency of Indonesian professionals.
The English Proficiency Program aims to cut language barriers and boost international trade between the neighboring areas.
The group also met with stakeholders in General Santos City to discuss issues and concerns, as well as possible cooperation in fisheries.
Indonesian Consul General Lalu Malik Partawana said that North Sulawesi has long been interested in exploring trade and tourism opportunities with their Mindanao counterparts because of proximity.
"We hope that this visit from our Indonesian counterparts would initiate activities that would strengthen the cooperation between the two countries and expedite the development of Bimp-Eaga," said Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, Medco chair.
Leyretana said that North Sulawesi's interest in Mindanao indicates that the spirit of cooperation for trade and investment across the borders of Bimp-Eaga is strongly gaining momentum.
Created in 1994, Bimp-Eaga is a four-country grouping collectively pursuing sub-regional economic growth. With an estimated 50 million people spread out across 1.5 million square kilometers of land in four countries, Bimp-Eaga is Asia's largest sub-regional cooperation. (Press release)
