A meeting of the Joint Task Force Committee of 'India-Indonesia Investment and Business Forum' to identify new areas of cooperation, develop infrastructure, tourism, trade and connectivity to enhance business relations was held in Port Blair on Tuesday, officials said.

India is keen on expediting trade and tourism with Indonesia, especially in Andaman and Nicobar Islands because of its less distance from most of the ports in India.

Indonesia’s Sabang port in Aceh is around 90 nautical miles from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. From Port Blair, the distance from Chennai and Kolkata is 794 nautical miles and 901 nautical miles respectively.

Thus, goods procured from Indonesia would be less in Andaman compared to those brought from Chennai and Kolkata as transportation costs would be less.

The meeting with Indonesian delegates was attended by Andaman and Nicobar Lieutenant Governor D K Joshi, Director for South and Central Asian Affairs of the Indonesian government, Jatmiko Heru Prasetyo, MEA Joint Secretary Vishvas Sapkal, besides other delegates, the officials said.

This is the second meeting of the Task Force Committee. The first meeting was held in Jakarta on November 25, 2019.

The delegates discussed opportunities available for investments in the infrastructure sector in Banda Aceh and Sabang Free Port in Indonesia, and in other sectors such as tourism, fisheries and maritime, the officials said.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia in 2018, he called for a Joint Task Force Committee from both sides to boost bilateral investments.

Andaman and Nicobar MP Kuldeep Sharma told PTI that this meeting is going to be a boon for both nations as this is going to generate revenues and employment.

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(Edited by : Anushka Sharma)