Purnomo leaves for Japan to discuss energy sector

Indonesian government is considering a plan to work closely with the Japanese government in order to boost cooperation in trade and investment, including in energy and mining sectors, Investor Indonesia newspaper reported on Wednesday.

?Tonight, I am leaving for Japan as part of President Megawati?s (Megawati Soekarnoputri?s) entourage. Indonesia expects the G-to-G (government to government) approach will create closer business cooperation,? Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The visit, according to Purnomo, will boost the close relationship between the two governments, enhance B-to-B (business to business) relations with Japanese businesses and lead to more capital inflows to Indonesia.

During his stay in Japan, besides attending bilateral meetings, Purnomo will also join the celebration of 20 years of ASEAN-Japan cooperation.

In the bilateral meetings, Indonesian delegation will try to make a cooperation agreement in LNG (liquefied natural gas) sector. Indonesia will ask Japan to increase its LNG imports to 12 million tons per year, he said.

The closer relationship between governments is very important and that will also encourage B-to-B cooperation, he added.

For example, Japan is buying LNG from Sakhalin (Russia) at higher prices than Indonesia?s LNG.

?Russia produces gas from its offshore wells, obviously at higher cost. Yet Japan is buying Russian LNG due to geopolitical considerations,? Purnomo said. (*)