CANADIAN ENVOY OPENS BUSINESS FORUM IN BANDUNG

Jakarta, Feb 18 (ANTARA) - Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Mackenzie Clugston opens the Canada-West Java Business Forum at the Hilton Hotel Bandung here on Thursday.

The event is part of a two-day visit by a Canadian business delegation to West Java with the purpose of expanding bilateral business relations between Canada and Indonesia.

According to a press release received here on Thursday, the Canadian Embassy was organizing the mission in conjunction with the Indonesia-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) and with the support of the regional Chamber of Commerce (Kadinda) and the West Java administration office.

During the visit, business practitioners from west Java will have an opportunity for one-on-one meetings with the members of the Canadian business delegation. The delegation will also tour the facilities of a number of a major companies in West Java.

"Bilateral trade relations between Canada and Indonesia reached C$1.8 billion in 2009. I am confident that this initiative will help companies from both Indonesia and Canada find new opportunities, which is particularly important in this time of global economic downturn," said Clugston.

The Canadian delegation will include representatives from Canadian companies active in Indonesia in areas such as insurance (Manulife), engineering and infrastructure (SNC, Lavalin, McElhanney), lubricants (Petro Canada), portable electric transmission towers (Acier Profile SBB Inc), mining and oil & gas equipment (World Oil Tools Inc), fire fighting equipment (SEI Industries), roofing materials (Iko Industries Ltd), power generation equipment (Babcock and Wilcox) and Higher education in the creative industries (Lasalle College International).

Ambassador Clugston and the delegation will also meet with West Java's Governor, Ahmad Heryawan, to explore the potential for closer cooperation between the province and Canada.