India and Indonesia ink business deals worth $15.1 billion

India and Indonesia ink business deals worth $15.1 billion

2011-01-26 07:00:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- With Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visiting India, the two countries on Tuesday signed 18 cooperation agreements worth $15.1 billion in several areas, such as mining, infrastructure, and manufacturing, local media reported.

In addition, both countries are looking to increase their bilateral trade and reach $25 billion within the next five years, The Hindu reported.

Among the Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) signed Tuesday, GVK Power and Infrastructure will be developing green field airports in Indonesia's most visited islands: Bali and Java.

Furthermore, Steel Authority of India Limited and chairman of the International Coal Ventures Private Limited C.S. Verma signed a MoU with the Governor of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, Agustin Teras Narang, for development of mineral deposits and the setting up of a mineral processing facility, steel plant, and required infrastructure in the province of Central Kalimantan.

The Indonesian president will also be the honorary guest in India's Republic Day celebrations on Wednesday, which commemorate India’s Constitution taking effect on January 26, 1950, after gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.

Since Yudhoyono's 2005 visit to India in which the countries signed a strategic partnership in several areas such as trade and economy, bilateral trade from the two nations has increased from $4 billion to almost $12 billion.

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