05
Nov
Angolan, Indonesian Governments Seek Economic Cooperation
Jakarta — Angola and Indonesia are willing to reinforce existing cooperation in the sectors of energy, seeking a mutual economic complementariness with reciprocal advantages.
This was said Saturday in Jakarta by the Angolan vice president, Manuel Domingos Vicente.
According to Manuela Vicente, the idea is to come together and invest in Angola and in other parts of the world, where there are common interests in the domains of exploration, production and trading of oil and its derivatives.
The Angolan official was speaking to the press on the fringes of a luncheon hosted by a local media group, as part of his four-day working visit to Indonesia, in response to an invitation from the local head of State to his counterpart José Eduardo dos Santos.
Manuel Vicente said that within the framework of existing bilateral cooperation, the parties are also studying the possibility of Angola to help cover the current energy deficit in once oil exporting Indonesia.
He recalled that the oil companies of Angola (Sonangol), and Indonesia ( Pertamina), signed on Friday in Jakarta, a cooperation framework agreement for maximisation of the export of oil and gas.
Manuel Vicente said he believes that the two companies will make a good partnership in crude oil research, production and trading, including in the creation of technical skills to jointly participate in biddings for exploration.
According to him, the biggest challenge will be in attracting financial resources to bring in big plans and also the recruitment and training of personnel to face the challenges.
“We need to be more competitive in attracting financial and human resources to implement joint projects,” he stressed.
Questioned by an Indonesian journalist whether the agreement would benefit his country, the Vice-President said that “Indonesia is more than ready to embrace these challenges, so the two countries will come together for a better future.”
As an example, he mentioned that there are countries that having no oil resources, invest in the petroleum industry in other parts of the world.
He added he believes that the nearly 250 million Indonesians are a very dedicated workforce and have many good universities that can guarantee frames for the challenges ahead.
It is expected that within three months the two oil companies set a timetable for action, to estimate the terms of implementation of the agreement.
The vice president said that Angola is already investing in other non-oil sectors, including real estate, in association with other partners such as China, reporting investments estimated at Usd 2.5 billion.
The Angolan delegation that began its visit on Friday is headed by Manuel Vicente, who has been received by the Indonesian head of State held a working meeting with the local vice president.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201411031639.html