Batam to host international maritime festival

Batam to host international maritime festival

Batam in Riau Islands will host the Indonesia International Maritime Festival (IIMF), in conjunction with the 2014 Multilateral Naval Exercises in Komodo (MNEK).

Jimmy Basuki, a representative from IIMF organizer PT Mare Nostrum, said the IIMF would include a maritime conference and expo as well as sports, leisure and entertainment.

“The maritime conference and expo are aimed at mapping the strength of the nation’s maritime sector with, among other things, the participation of hundreds of Batam shipyards,” Jimmy told a press conference on Tuesday.

He said the Batam shipyards could promote their capabilities to countries participating in the 2014 MNEK.

Jimmy claimed that the IIMF, which will be held at the Planet Holiday Hotel, would be the first maritime event held in the country since the Arung Samudera event in 1996.

He said the event was also being supported by the Indonesian Navy, the Defense Ministry, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry and a number of other ministries to support the 2014 MNEK, which will welcome representatives from ASEAN 10 member countries and their partners, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The exercises will take place from March 28 to April 3.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/25/batam-host-international-maritime-festival.html