The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy held a Limited Discussion “Development of the Bintan Free Trade Area and Free Port (KPBPB: Opportunities and Challenges) as a means to solicit input from stakeholders (09/09/2021). Expert Staff for Inter-Institutional Relations, Muhsin Syihab in his speech emphasized that the development of the KPBPB is very important and in line with the efforts of economic diplomacy which is one of the priorities of Indonesia's current foreign policy. KPBPB Bintan is expected to be able to attract foreign investment and create new jobs and be a catalyst to accelerate the national economic recovery due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Governor of the Riau Islands said that the Bintan Special Economic Zone had a focus on the tourism, maritime, transportation, trade, banking and other supporting economic sectors. With great potential, Bintan is expected to become an international-class investment and tourism center. These views and directions became the subject of discussions where the resource persons provided very strategic input for the development of the Bintan KPBB. In addition to various inputs, the discussion also noted the need for the government to work together to convince investors of legal certainty and good governance. In addition, it is time to execute the existing program with the support of all stakeholders, central and local.
Closing the discussion, the Head of P2K2 Aspasaf said that the obstacles to the development of the Bintan KPBPB must be resolved comprehensively which can also be focused on the integration of the ASEAN Region so that in the future the PBPB Area can become a world-class free trade area.
