JAKARTA. Indonesia and Germany have agreed to expand their economic cooperation, particularly in maritime-development projects to support President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s maritime ambitions.

Speaking to repoters after accompanying the President to receive German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Merdeka Palace on Monday, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said Germany was committed to a strong relationship with Jokowi’s new administration. The two governments will also boost trade ties as a follow up to the 2012 Jakarta Declaration.

“The President talked about the current development program of the government, [while] Germany, in principle, is willing to provide support related to its expertise for development in Indonesia,” Retno added. 

Retno was referring to the Joint Declaration for a Comprehensive Partnership, or the Jakarta Declaration, which was signed in 2012 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In the declaration, both countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, health care, food security and research, as well as sustainable transportation — aspects of which Retno said were among the main development focuses of the current government.

“In particular, I said that we encouraged Germany to make Indonesia a production base for its markets in the Southeast Asia region,” she said. “We also asked Germany to open greater access to Indonesian export products, including commodities.”

On maritime-development topics, the two ministers discussed the building of seaports and joint-capacity training for maritime workers.

“Our shipyards, supply industries, ocean carriers and logistic companies are strong players, standing ready to get more actively involved in Indonesia,” German Ambassador to Indonesia Georg Witschel told the press.

Retno said that Germany remained one of Indonesia’s most important partners, as the country’s bilateral trade vision correlated well with the government’s current development program.

During his visit to Indonesia, Steinmeier was accompanied by academics and 15 senior business representatives from steel producer and automotive industry company ThyssenKrupp AG, shipyard firm Meyer Werft GmbH, the Hamburg Port Authority, engineering firm Ferrostaal AG and European aerospace giant Airbus.

The value of Germany’s and Indonesia’s bilateral trade amounted to US$7.3 billion in 2013, up from $7.2 billion in 2012 and $6.6 billion in 2011, according to data provided by the Trade Ministry.

Germany is among Indonesia’s top-10 trade partners, with trade reaching $4 billion from January to July this year.

Earlier that day, Retno met with Steinmeier at her office where the two foreign ministers also discussed other issues, such as the request for a visa waiver for Indonesian diplomatic and service passports.

The Volkswagen production plant in Cikampek, West Java, was also discussed, as the factory will become the automotive giant’s Southeast Asian production hub, said Ratna. (Ina Parlina)

Editor: Yudho Winarto