Indonesia, UAE firms sign agreements worth $9.7 B
Indonesia's president Joko Widodo (left) talks with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as they prepare to plant a tree during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace in Bogor, Indonesia, July 24, 2019.
JAKARTA, July 24 (Reuters) - Companies in Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have signed agreements worth a total of $9.7 billion during an official visit of Abu Dhabi crown prince to the Southeast Asian country, the Indonesian government said on Wednesday.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace in Bogor, south of the capital Jakarta.
On the sidelines of the visit, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed an agreement with Indonesia's state-owned energy company PT Pertamina for oil and gas collaboration in both countries and globally, which has a potential value of $2.5 billion, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
ADNOC said the deal covered projects in the UAE' upstream oil and gas sector as well as refining and petrochemicals, LNG, LPG, aviation fuel and fuel retail opportunities in Indonesia.
Indonesia's Chandra Asri Petrochemical also signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi's state fund Mubadala and Austrian energy firm OMV to explore opportunities in petrochemicals, the three companies said in a joint statement.
The foreign ministry said the three were exploring the development of a naphtha cracker and petrochemical complex, with a potential value of $6 billion.
Indonesia's Maspion Group signed two preliminary agreements with Dubai state-controlled DP World to develop a container terminal and industrial logistics park in Gresik in East Java, the ministry and DP World said, valuing the deal at $1.2 billion.
It will have a capacity equivalent of 3 million 20-foot shipping containers.
Construction is expected to start later this year with operations commencing in the first half of 2022, DP World said in a statement.
One of the world's largest port operators, DP World's concession at the Surabaya Container Terminal ended in April.
Both leaders also talked about increasing investment in Indonesia's tourism sector and allowing Indonesian state construction firms to participate in projects in the UAE, according to the ministry statement.
President Widodo, after winning an election in April, has pledged more investment opportunities to create jobs in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
Sheikh Mohammed's visit could net $10-$15 billion in deals and partnerships, Jakarta's envoy to the UAE Husin Bagis was quoted as saying by UAE state news agency WAM.
(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa, additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; editing by David Evans)
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