Trade minister to meet Australian businessmen in Melbourne

Brisbane (ANTARA News) - Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu will speak on the latest developments of the trade sector in Indonesia and the Indonesian trade policy in a planned meeting with tens of Australian major businessmen in Melbourne on November 13, 2008. 

The meeting with the Australian businessmen would be held after Minister Pangestu attended a meeting of the Australian-Indonesian Ministerial Forum (AIMF) in Canberra on November 11-12, Jahar Gultom, Minister Counselor at the Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne, said here on Wednesday. 

"Around 20 businessmen, including chief executive officers and managers of big companies, have confirmed to be present in the business meeting to be held from 7.30 am to 9.30 am," he said. 

Some of the Australian businessmen engaged in the trade, retail, mining, banking and service sectors, have run businesses in Indonesia but they might want to expand their businesses, he said 

The meeting with the Australian businessmen would be organized by the Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne, in cooperation with the Australian-Indonesian Business Council (AIBC) and the Asia Society Melbourne, according to Gultom. 

Some 400 Australian companies currently operate in Indonesia. The total value of the Indonesian-Australian trade reaches more than Aus$10 billion annually.