Coventry University and a group of hi-tech companies from the Midlands are embarking on a trade mission to the world’s third largest country to coincide with the Indo Aerospace Show – a global aerospace industry event.
The delegation is being jointly organised by the University and the Department of International Trade and will feature companies involved in engineering, aerospace, environmental and industrial clothing. The week-long mission will include meeting with The British Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Moazzam Malik, trade briefings from industry experts based in Indonesia and access to trade and export data – and is grant supported.
Paul Fairburn, Director, Enterprise and Innovation at Coventry University, said that Indonesia – the world’s fourth most populous country – offered considerable economic potential for the university and companies in the Coventry and Warwickshire area. He said: “We have a presence in Indonesia in terms of student recruitment and we are looking to align our areas of recruitment with our core activities including research and enterprise expertise so we bring everything together.”
Paul continues, “Indonesia is an exciting and growing economy and there are clearly opportunities in areas in which we specialise such as aerospace, automotive and maritime transport, advanced manufacturing, energy, food and water safety. Not only do we have relevant expertise inside the university but also in our region, so we are taking a dozen or so companies out there with us in partnership with DIT. The focus of the week is the expo so that the delegation can exploit opportunities. Several of the companies have worked in aviation or see that as a key growth sector. At the university we are also strong in aviation management, security and engineering, so we hope to return with some strong contacts in those fields.”
Indonesia has a population of 252 million which is growing by 4.5 million year and has the largest economy in South East Asia.
Ajay Desai, who works for the DIT and is based at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce said the combination of private businesses and the university would prove a powerful driver to Indonesian companies looking to work with UK organisations. “Having a combination of Coventry University, the Department of International Trade and business only adds to the strength of the mission. The university is active already in Indonesia, the department can leverage all the official trade contacts the Government already has in the country while the businesses have expertise in some of the growth areas. Indo Aerospace is one of the leading global events in the sector with 25,000 delegates and more than 750 firms from 55 countries so it is the ideal forum to test the market in South East Asia.”
