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INDONESIA PROPOSES RAIL LINK LINE, IRON ORE DEAL

21/10/2019 01:09:00 By King’s Office Correspondent

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JAKARTA, INDONESIA – The Indonesia Government has expressed interest in supporting Eswatini build her section of the multi-billion Lothair–Sidvokodvo Rail Link project.

Eswatini would repay Indonesia with the iron ore resource at Ngwenya.
This is a win-win proposal submitted by the Indonesia Minister of Trade, Enggartiasto Lukita, during talks with Commerce, Industry and Trade Minister Mancoba Khumalo on Saturday.

The country also wants access to SACU while its private sector is interested in infrastructure development as well as textile, among other sectors.
The minister said they spoke strongly about iron ore during their engagement with their counterparts which was preceded by a meeting with the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce. He said Indonesia had a State owned enterprise almost similar to Eswatini Railway.

“This enterprise has grown to such an extent that they are doing rail projects internationally so they are eager to help with our rail project. What they are looking for is a win-win situation where they could construct our rail project and we then use that rail line to transport the iron ore which is in great demand here,” he said.

The minister explained that the iron ore would be used to offset the cost of constructing the Eswatini section of the Rail Link project.
“However, I emphasised that we wish to develop a smelter at Ngwenya to make steel as value addition to our natural resource. They were amenable to that as long as there would be mutual benefit to both parties,” Khumalo said.

Proposal

This proposal will now form part of further engagements proposed by the two ministers that will see the two countries sign an economic cooperation agreement.

Of note is that Indonesia is also emphasizing beneficiation by seeking to ban the export of ore effective January 2020.
Prior to this meeting, the minister, accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of the Eswatini Investment promotion Authority (EIPA), Sibane Mngomezulu, met eight members of the Indonensia Chamber of Commerce.

The talks were held to familiarise each other on areas of mutual interest, particularly from the private sector community.
The minister said during the talks, he gave the team an overview of the Eswatini Strategic Road map and its priority sectors. “They were keen on specific projects where they could participate. They had very keen interest in infrastructure, textile and very keen interest as well in iron ore, particularly. When we told them of natural resources, they took particular interest in iron ore.”

An invitation has been extended to Indonesia Chamber of Commerce to send a business delegation to Eswatini across the different sectors discussed.
A cooperation agreement between Chamber of Commerce of Indonesia and Business Eswatini was signed at the end of the talks.
“We started working on the agreement before coming to Indonesia through Business Eswatini CEO Nathi Dlamini’s office. Dlamini could not attend but delegated the signing authority to Mngomezulu from EIPA, “ explained the minister.

The minister and Mngomezulu were also hosted to a Trade and Investment Expo by his trade counterpart. The meeting reiterated the discussions with the Chamber of Commerce, but was escalated to a government level that raised the need for an economic cooperation agreement between the two countries.
“We agreed to start the process and he gave me the Indonesia director of International Affairs who will work with our director of Trade to start the process. He promised to send a note verbal to kick-start the process,” said Khumalo.

Agreement

He further disclosed that Indonesia was keen to have a trade agreement with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and have been trying to since 2017 without success.
“I explained that I am a member of the SACU Council of ministers and I would definitely make sure that their request is responded to. He requested that I be their ambassador to facilitate this engagement because they look at us as a region they would like to trade with,” he said.

Meanwhile, His Majesty yesterday congratulated the Indonesia President Joko Widodo, for a peaceful election into his second term.
The King, accompanied by Inkhosikati LaMashwama, met the president-elect in private talks prior to the inauguration event at the State House. He extended greetings and well wishes from the Indlovukazi and the people of Eswatini.

The Monarch described the election victory as a sign of great confidence that the people of Indonesia had in the president (58), popularly known as ‘Jokowi’.
He said he was impressed by the development that has taken place in Indonesia and wished him great success in his new term, adding that he was looking forward to strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries through a cooperation agreement.
This agreement, he highlighted, could help Indonesia tap into the market opportunities that Africa now had to offer following the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA).

His Majesty also shared some of the country’s development initiatives guided by the Strategic Road map as well as the development of the energy sector which seeks to use high tech systems to reduce emissions in the proposed thermal powered station.