Buoyed by growth in the bilateral trade between Indonesia and India, Indonesia’s Garuda Airlines will commence flights to India from June this year, says Indonesia’s Ambassador to India Andi M Ghalib.
In an effort to boost the bilateral trade relations between India and Indonesia, Garuda Airlines, Indonesia’s national carrier, is expected to launch flights to India, connecting Chennai.
Apart from bilateral trade, the airline is also hoping to target holiday travellers who look for outbound and inbound cheap flights to India. It has been learnt that this flight launch may be a part of the countrywide operations.
The flight operations are likely to be launched in June this year.
Making the announcement at a press conference in Chennai on Sunday, the visiting Ambassador, Lt General (R) Andi M Ghalib told the reporters the airline would start the air travel from four metro cities in India to Indonesia.
“We want to raise the number of Indian tourists to Indonesia from the present 1.80 lakh to 2.40 lakh in the coming years. Also, the new air services would give a fillip for bilateral trade,” he said. The Ambassador also added that a proposal has been presented to establish a Consulate General of Indonesia in Chennai, next only to Mumbai.
Speaking about the bilateral trade, he said the trade between two nations has been mounting rapidly and he wants Indian businessmen to visit Indonesia in a bid to explore investment possibilities.
“We are taking 50 Indian businessmen for exploring the trade opportunities available in Indonesia next month. In fact, India and Indonesia have signed 33 MoUs, which is the highest between any two countries in the world, offering many tax benefits for investors,” he was quoted in media reports.
He said Indonesia offers tremendous growth potential in the field of agriculture, rubber, mining, coal, textiles, defence, IT and other fields.
