Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are looking to strengthen three-way economic cooperation in anticipation of a surge in investment under the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Cooperation would be built on separate strategic partnerships that Vietnam signed with Thailand and Indonesia last year during the term of the Yingluck Shinawatra government, according to representatives of the Indonesia-Thai Chamber of Commerce (INTCC).
"With the three countries joining together, I think we will have a great opportunity to reap the benefits of regional integration under the AEC framework," said Prachuap Chaiyasan, an adviser to the INTCC and a former minister of foreign affairs for Thailand.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, has a total population of 250 million while Vietnam has 90 million people and Thailand 67 million. That gives the three countries a combined population of more than 500 million while Asean overall has 600 million people.
"The partnership, once it becomes fruitful, will allow the three country partners to share natural resources, especially from Indonesia, as well as human capital while complementing each other's expertise," said Mr Prachuap, who is also the president of the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association, on the sidelines of the INTCC 2015 roadmap forum held in Bangkok last week.
Raw materials from Indonesia could be transported to the nearest port in Vietnam and then shipped to Thailand for manufacturing. Also, coal from Indonesia, which has the largest coal reserves in the world, could be shipped to power plants in Vietnam to make electricity for domestic consumption and to deliver to Thailand through a regional grid.
In Thailand, building new coal-fired power plants appears almost impossible given heavy opposition from environmental activists. If the trilateral agreement materialises, Thailand would have access to low-cost electricity generated from coal, added Mr Prachuap.
Mr Prachuap himself is preparing to travel to Vietnam to further discuss the issue with his counterparts.
Lutfi Rauf, the Indonesian ambassador to Thailand and permanent representative to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap), agreed with Mr Prachuap, noting that sub-regional agreements are common practice under Asean.
Indonesia has such agreements with Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia, and another with Singapore and Johor Bahru state in Malaysia.
"This is something we can explore for mutual benefits. All we need to do is sit down and work together on how to achieve it," the ambassador told Asia Focus.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Indonesia. The INTCC, which was established in 2013, is organising events under the theme "2015 Go Invest Indonesia" including a business matchmaking mission in which Thai conglomerates and high-ranking government officials will visit Indonesia in early April.
"Indonesia is the highest-potential and biggest market of Asean with the population of 250 million, or almost half of Asean, with 10-15% of its consumers having high purchasing power. It is a strategically important country developing with a considerable rate of economic expansion," said INTCC secretary-general Sukit Uarmahacharoen.
Prominent Thai exports to Indonesia include rice, sugar and fruits, while the Thailand's services industry believes tourism-related businesses have a bright future in Indonesia, he added.
According to Ambassador Lutfi, Thai businesses ranked 15th among foreign investors in Indonesia with investments of US$318 million last year. Singapore is the top foreign investor from Asean, at $5.8 billion.
Under President Joko Widodo's National Medium-Term Development Plan, Indonesia is aiming for investment realisation of $250 billion from 2019 in manufacturing industries, mainly those in the labour-intensive, export substitution, and value-added natural resource sectors. It hopes most of these new industries will be located outside of congested Java, encouraged by simplified licensing procedures under a new one-stop agency called PTSP Pusat.
The five-year plan requires $460 billion for infrastructure development including airports, seaports, railways, roads and toll roads. The investment is aimed at reducing logistics costs from 24.2% of GDP to 19.2% by 2019, while increasing the share of urban public transport from 23% to 32%.
Of the total budget, 40% will be contributed from the state budget, 19% from state enterprises, 10% from provincial administrations and 31% from public-private partnership (PPP) programmes, said Mr Lufti.
INTCC chairwoman Sarasvati Ellie Santoso said Indonesia's new president was receiving support from every social level and the country had achieved new heights of domestic political stability.
"He has initiated an enormous restructuring of the Indonesian bureaucracy, making conditions more conducive for investment and cooperation with foreign companies, with pro-business policies," she said.
"One of the key policies of the Jokowi government is to speed up the licensing and concession process, especially in maritime and agro-industries for Indonesia to be self-sufficient in the next three to five years."
Unlike most of its peers that are squabbling over the South China Sea, Indonesia has no political disputes with any other country, and good strategic partnerships with China, Japan and the United States.
Thailand's strengths in agribusiness could be used to help Indonesia add value to maritime products, cassava, rice and coconuts. Other strengths include biomass energy, healthcare, infrastructure and power plants, she said.
The strengths of Indonesia include a large workforce, large plantation areas and abundant natural resources in areas of fishing, mining and forestry, she added.