Manado (Indonesia), Nov 14 (IANS): Indian and Indonesian entrepreneurs have pledged to boost cooperation at a business seminar held in Indonesia's North Sulawesi island to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-India partnership.

Monday's seminar at Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi, coincided with the arrival of Indian naval ship INS Sudarshini on its shore.

The conference was part of series of seminars organised in Indonesia by the Indian embassy as part of the celebrations. The earlier seminars were held in Jakarta and Bali.

Manado conference was organised by the Consulate General of India in association with Sam Ratulangi University and KADIN (Indonesian Business Chamber). The seminar explored opportunities in IT, investment and trade, the Indian embassy here said in a statement Tuesday.

The Sulawesi island is envisioned as a new gateway to East Asia and the Pacific. Thrust areas for Indian companies in Sulawesi were tourism, fisheries and food processing. It was noted that there was tremendous scope for Indian companies in internet infrastructure, hardware and software development in Indonesia.

Indian Ambassador Gurjit Singh said IT has contributed to globalisation of opportunities. The Indian embassy will be willing to work with KADIN and universities on identified areas of cooperation, Singh added.

The seminar was attended by more than 150 people, including representatives from KADIN and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce (FICCI), faculty and students from Sam Ratulangi University and provincial officials.

Both sides agreed to pursue the areas of cooperation identified during the seminar to enhance economic engagement between India and Indonesia, especially in North Sulawesi.

The ASEAN groups Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar.