ISLAMABAD - After Saudi Arabia, Iran and few other countries, the Republic of Indonesia has expressed its desire to be part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor by exporting coal for power projects or by way of setting up a railway system for the CPEC.

In an exclusive interview with Waqt News the other day, the Ambassador of Republic of Indonesia in Islamabad Iwan Suyudhie Amri has said that the people of Pakistan and this region, seem excited about the CPEC.

He said that if the project succeeded it would change the logistic route in the region from the Middle East through Pakistan up to China.

The ambassador said that the CPEC would prove an opportunity to tap for Pakistan.

Amri said that, “hopefully, the pace of the CPEC in account of infrastructure development in Pakistan will increase.”

To a question, the ambassador stated, the basic focus of the CPEC was supply of energy, which included various energy plants.

As Indonesia is refined in coal industry, it can provide coal for the power projects under the CPEC, Amri said.

“Indonesia also holds expertise in railway system, so it can establish a train system for [the] CPEC and that is how Indonesia could be part of the mega project,” the Indonesian diplomat said.

The ambassador expressed his hope that the sustained pace of the CPEC would have a trickledown effect on Pakistan’s economy, which in turn would have a positive impact on the south Asian region too.

The Indonesian envoy told the scribe that since his arrival in Islamabad one and a half years ago, the security situation had been improving, for which the role of all the stakeholders was appreciable.

On the economic front, the ambassador said that the trade volume between Islamabad and Jakarta was $1.6 billion before signing of the Free Trade Agreement in 2013, which had touched 2.2 billion dollars.

Expressing his satisfaction on the growth of Pak-Indonesia economic ties, Amri said that Pakistani “kinnow” had been introduced in the Indonesian markets and would remain available for six months. Amri lauded the taste of Pakistani mangoes.

He said that Pakistani mangoes would debut in Indonesian markets by next year.

Likewise, Amri said a number of Indonesian products also stood a good chance to enter Pakistani markets, which could benefit both the countries.