Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Sudan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in the supervision of food and pharmaceuticals.Under the MoU, the Indonesian government will seek to tap the potential of the African market to improve the national economy, Head of the National Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) Taruna Ikrar said here on Thursday.
“We now collaborate to improve Indonesia’s potential. Secondly, we get a new ally, and thirdly, we see business, economic opportunity,” he said.
According to Ikrar, the MoU is a follow-up to a joint commitment reached in 2024 during the Indonesia-Africa Forum. It is expected to help Indonesia export foods, drugs, and cosmetics to Sudan, and in the process, improve the quality of national products.
Under the MoU, all BPOM-certified products, including food, drugs, and herbal medicines, can be exported to Sudan, without requiring additional verification, and marketed right away, the BPOM head informed.
Sudan is one of the largest countries in Africa, with a population of nearly 45 million, he noted. For herbal medications, such a large market could spell large demand and large production, and encourage manufacturers to improve the quality of their products.
Ikrar said he expects this to help advance efforts to standardize herbal remedies or even transform herbal medicines into phytopharmaceuticals.
Indonesia has 30 thousand plant types, of which around 17 thousand are used in herbal medications, a heritage that has been preserved for thousands of years, he noted.
According to the BPOM’s official site, out of the 17 thousand herbal medications, 78 have been standardized and 21 have been developed into phytopharmaceutical drugs.
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On the same occasion, the Ambassador of the Republic of the Sudan to Indonesia, Yassir Mohammed Ali, said that Sudan is proud and pleased to collaborate with Indonesia.
He added that ever since Indonesia joined BRICS, it has shown a strong tendency to expand its economic ties with Africa, a huge continent comprising 55 countries and over 1 billion people.
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“There is a huge opportunity for Indonesia to expand its economic ties, especially when we talk about the halal economy. Indonesia is a leading country, is a locomotive among the Muslim countries,” he said.
According to Ali, Sudan could play a role in this economic expansion, owing to several characteristics, such as its geographical location. Surrounded by landlocked countries, which are home to 200 million people, Sudan is one of the gateways to Africa.
“We’d like to see Indonesian products in Sudan. We’d like to see more and more economic relations between Sudan and Indonesia in these strategic areas and other areas also,” he added.
