KARACHI, Aug 12: Indonesian Consul General Entjim Herrianto has stressed the need to work jointly for increasing the trade volume between the two countries and suggested that Pakistani businessmen should make more efforts to increase and diversify exports to Indonesia.

He was of the view that Pakistani products like fruits and other agricultural products and some kinds of textile madeups could penetrate and compete in the Indonesian market.

Talking to members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Thursday, the consul general said he was aware that the ground realities were different from the image projected by the foreign media about Pakistan in general and Karachi in particular, due to its importance as a hub of business and commercial activities.

He agreed to give preference to the visa applicants recommended by the KCCI, saying the process had been further made efficient, says a KCCI press release. Mr Herrianto said KCCI's 'My Karachi Exhibition' was an instant success and would serve as a milestone on the way to progress and prosperity of Pakistan.

"The success of exhibition will send positive signal abroad and will certainly change the perception of foreign investors towards Pakistan," he added.

KCCI president Siraj Kassam Teli said that trade ties did not show a sizable volume if compared with old relations with Indonesia. "Imports from Indonesia far exceed our exports."

He informed the consul general of the problems faced by the business community in obtaining visas and suggested that the consulate's visa section should give priority to those businessmen who had been recommended by the chamber.