Indonesia would endeavor to bolster trade with Taiwan by promoting exports of Indonesian goods and forging partnerships in technology transfers, Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei head Budi Santoso said.

Budi, the new Indonesian envoy to Taiwan, made the comment in a letter to the Central News Agency on Sunday, days after officially assuming his post on Tuesday last week.

“We will intensely promote Indonesian products in Taiwan by facilitating exhibitions and business matching,” Budi said.

With international travel severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the office in July hosted a virtual trade show bringing together Indonesian food and beverage companies with Taiwanese buyers.

The office’s goal to boost trade follows a directive from Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, Budi said.

“President Jokowi has always been emphasizing to all of Indonesia’s representative offices abroad to promote the trade sector, including to boost export growth,” Budi said.

Taiwan is also looking to improve economic and cultural relations with Southeast Asian countries through its New Southbound Policy, Budi said.

The policy covers the 10 ASEAN member countries, along with Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The policy is “an important fundamental for continuing economic cooperation between Indonesia and Taiwan,” Budi said.

Taiwan is also a good market for Indonesian products due to the significant number of Indonesian migrant workers in the nation, he said.

There were 267,260 Indonesians working in productive industries and social welfare in Taiwan as of the end of August, down 1.59 percent from the same period last year, Ministry of Labor statistics showed.

Citing Taiwan’s advantages in technology and its applications in agriculture, Budi said he hoped to forge partnerships involving technology transfers.