Jakarta (Indonesia Window) - Three Indonesian governmental institutions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade and the Investment Coordinating Board on Friday launched the 2020 Indonesia-Latin America and Caribbean Business Forum (INA-LAC) digital platform to support national entrepreneurs to increase exports to the region.

The digital platform was launched virtually by Indonesian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and participated by a number of Indonesian businessmen, mass media, and representatives of Indonesia in the Latin America and Caribbean regions.

"This is an important event, because we increasingly understand that all regions or countries in the world are important for economic, trade and investment relations," Indonesian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahendra Siregar said.

The digital platform is a forum for interaction among Indonesian, Latin American and the Caribbean business players, showcasing investment opportunities from various provinces in Indonesia, including national main export products.

One-on-one business meetings are also facilitated through the digital platform.

The launch of the digital platform is the beginning of the 2020 INA-LAC Business Forum event which will be held on a hybrid format on November 9-11, 2020.

The potential for economic cooperation between Indonesia and Latin American and Caribbean countries is quite large considering that these countries' populations are very dense, with export potential reaching 1 trillion U.S. dollars.

In 2019, the bilateral trade value of Indonesia and Latin American countries reached 7.81 billion U.S. dollars or grew by 3 percent compared to 2018.

Meanwhile, the value of Indonesia's exports to the region also increased from 4.06 billion U.S. dollars to 4.55 billion U.S. dollars.

Indonesia's main export commodities to Latin American countries include vehicles and spare parts, paper and paper products, footwears, and industrial raw materials.

In the post-COVID-19 pandemic, the trade of those products is predicted to increase.

The 2020 INA-LAC Business Forum is a continuation of similar event in 2019 which attracted business players in the Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Reporting by Indonesia Window