Indonesia Believes SMEs Can Create Sustainable Development

London, UK (Antara Bali) - Indonesian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Husin Bagis said investment for Small-Medium Enterprises' (SMEs') innovation is important to achieve sustainable development at the national, regional, and global level, noted a press release.

 The statement issued by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Dubai was received by Antara here, Friday.

Indonesia is committed to supporting the development of SMEs in the Indian Ocean region through the development of a Business Innovation Center in the region, the ambassador stated at the Second Ministerial Economic and Business Conference (EBC II) of The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
The conference themed "Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation: Investing in a Sustainable Future" was held in Dubai, UAE, on April 11-13, 2016, and was attended by 14 IORA member countries.

Ambassador Husin, representing Indonesia as chairman of the IORA for 2015-2017, stated that the IORA Concord will strengthen the structure of the region and offer new impetus to the joint efforts to boost the global economy.

The IORA Concord is a document to be adopted as a code of conduct and good governance to face new challenges in the Indian Ocean region.

Meanwhile, the UAE Economy Minister Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori affirmed that reinforcement structure can be implemented in the region by improving economic cooperation in the form of a Free Trade Agreement to promote trade and investment among IORA member countries.

According to the minister, UAE has offered cooperation in the form of a public-private partnership in seven sectors reserved for SMEs to encourage innovation, including in the fields of renewable energy, transportation, education, health, technology, and water resources.

The ministers of IORA member countries agreed to pay special attention to SMEs in the Indian Ocean region to establish cooperation in several areas such as access to funding, capacity building through training and workshops, transfer of technology, simplification of the licensing process, development of networks among SMEs, and increase in investment for SMEs. (WDY)