President officially opens 45th Jakarta Fair

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially opened the 45th Jakarta Fair here on Thursday as part of the events held to commemorate the 485th anniversary of capital city Jakarta.

In his speech the President said the trade fair had attracted more and more visitors from year to year making it known as one of the biggest events in Southeast Asia.

"Last year it drew four million visitors with transactions recorded at more than Rp3.6 trillion, proving that the trade fair has become a promising business and investment facility," he said.

He said the annual Jakarta Fair had been waited not only by Jakartans but also residents from across the country. He also admitted it has also become a foreign tourist attraction.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo meanwhile said the Jakarta Fair scheduled from June 14 to July 15 has become a trademark of Jakarta.

He said Jakarta`s economy had been ranked 17th out of 200 cities in the world with income per capita growth at 5.5 percent and employment growth at 3.3 percent.

"In the past five years Jakarta`s economy has grown 6.17 percent a year and by the end of the year the city administration expects unemployment to drop to 10.3 percent," he said.

A total of 2,650 companies are taking part in the trade fair with the number of visitors expected to reach 4.5 million up from 4.1 million recorded last year (Antara)