| The trade between the two countries is $3.3 billion at present. The visiting Indonesian Minister of Trade, Mari Elka Pangestu, said her country had already decided to extend the facility of visas-on-arrival to India from August 1 to boost tourism from the present level of 30,000 tourists per year. |
| "We discussed the possibility of a comprehensive economic cooperation or partnership agreement. The joint commission will look into this aspect. We will proceed by appointing joint study groups to examine the feasibility of such a move," Pangestu said at an interactive session organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) here. |
| Pangestu said both sides recognised the need to widen and deepen the trade basket. Indonesia was interested, particularly, in cooperation in the information technology, pharmaceutical, two-three wheeler, and rail transport sectors. |
| She said though Indonesia's total trade with India in the first three months of the current fiscal grew by an impressive 23.4 per cent, yet there was enough room for improvement. |
| Kamal Nath underlined the need to diversify the bilateral trade basket to achieve a quantum increase. "If trade is to be sustained and expanded, then it cannot rely on just a handful of commodities," he said. |
| The minister said agriculture and allied sectors, like food products and processed food industries, offer good scope for trade expansion. He also spoke of certain non-tariff barriers that were hampering bilateral trade between the two countries. |
| "There are some non-tariff barriers in the animal husbandry and non-agricultural sectors which are hampering the trade. I have requested the Indonesian minister to look into these issues," he said. |
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