Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on July 9 called on businesspeople in ASEAN and Latin American regions to boost bilateral trade and investment as they have not fully tapped their potential for the benefit of people in the two emerging markets.
Addressing the opening of the two-day ASEAN Latin Business Forum in Jakarta, President Yudhoyono said that the two regions have enormous economic potential created by the close co-operation among their member economies.
He cited the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean region as saying that growth in the two regions may rise to 4.1% this year. This would be an excellent achievement as global economies see diminishing growth, he said.
The President said the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Latin America is estimated at US$6.87 trillion while the economic growth in the ASEAN region is estimated to reach 7.2% with estimated GDP at US$3.36 trillion.
He pointed out that those figures will convince business people in the two regions to further explore investment and trade ties.
At the forum, businesspeople and senior officials focused discussions on possibilities to boost trade and investment between the two regions.
(VNA)