Bali Tourism News

VP wants Bali-Kunming air link

June 18th, 2007

Vice President Jusuf Kalla asked flag carrier Garuda Indonesia here Wednesday to fly directly to Kunming, the capital of Yunan province in China, to foster trade and tourism links between Indonesia and the province.

In his meeting with Bai Enpei, the most powerful man in Yunan province, Kalla also recognized that more and more affluent Yunan people were visiting Indonesia, especially Bali, and therefore a direct flight between Kunming and Bali would enhance that link.

“As Yunan and Bali are sister provinces, I would ask Garuda to open a direct flight between Kunming and Bali, so that tourism as well as trade links between the two will improve further,” Kalla told Bai.

Bai, secretary general of the Communist Party Committee in Yunan, noted that a direct link would enhance trade between Yunan and Bali as well as the rest of Indonesia.

He revealed that two-way trade between Yunan and Indonesia reached US$230 million last year. In the first four months of this year alone, two-way trade reached about $100 million, representing a 140 percent increase from the same period last year.

Separately, Johan Unggul, one of several Indonesian businessmen in Kunming, welcomed Kalla’s proposal, saying that when he travels to Kunming he currently flies via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

“Singapore and Malaysia seems to have been one step ahead of us in this regard,” said Johan, who has a fertilizer plant in Kunming.

During the meeting, Bai and Kalla also discussed possible cooperation in the agriculture sector, in which Yunan is more advanced.

Besides agriculture, Bai also promoted investment opportunities in other sectors, especially mining and manufacturing.

“Yunan is rich with natural resources. We have everything in Yunan, gold, silver, bronze and other minerals,” he said.

Yunan itself, with over 40 million people, could serve as a potential major market for Indonesian products.

Earlier, Kalla visited the World Horti-Expo Garden in Kunming. Wednesday was the first day of his six-day official visit to China.

Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post, Kunming, China

Entry Filed under: Bali Tourism News