VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian and Italian diplomatic cooperation and relations are consistent based on the principle of mutual respect and trust since 1949. This is indicated by trade between the two countries in the 2016-2018 period which experienced an average escalation of 12%.

"We value this good relationship. "The two countries continue to build stronger cooperation, can be seen from positive growth in the fields of trade, tourism and investment," said Minister of Industry (Menperin) Airlangga Hartarto while attending the Italian National Day event at Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta, Thursday night ( 6/20).

Airlangga assesses, there are still many opportunities that have not been fully utilized as well as greater potential in bilateral trade. "I see the export products of the two countries as complementary," he explained.

Airlangga said, when viewed from the trade balance between Indonesia and Italy, the potential that could be optimized was industrial products that dominated trade between Indonesia and Italy, namely, iron and steel, chemical products, footwear, rubber, spices, coffee and tea.

"Iron and steel, for example, Italy has become the eighth largest export market of Indonesia in 2018. In addition, Italy is the second largest manufacturing base in the European Union which supplies various types of industrial products to Indonesia," he said.

Airlangga explained, Italy is widely known as a leading country in the export of machinery and mechanical solutions, metal products, automotive, industrial and transportation equipment, chemical products and synthetic fibers, as well as electrical and electronic equipment.

"For this purpose, Indonesia is a suitable partner for Italy in industrial development. We offer a lot of quality, from high-quality workforce and production capacity, to a growing domestic market, "he explained.

In 2019, Indonesia and Italy celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations. This momentum will be commemorated through a number of activities to strengthen cooperation in the creative economy and small and medium enterprises.

Airlangga hopes that bilateral cooperation between the two countries will expand to regional and global regions. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN, while Italy is a founding member of the European Union and is a fellow G-20 member. Plus, the two countries share the same view on how to adequately address various global challenges.

"We hope that such initiatives will connect the world-recognized Italian furniture, fashion and footwear industry with Indonesia's growing creative industry. This will help the Indonesian creative industry sector to enter the global market, "he explained.

Airlangga added that the relationship between Indonesia and Italy was increasing after the signing of a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation between the two countries in 2017. In the collaboration, Indonesia has enormous renewable energy resources such as biomass, hydropower, geothermal energy, wind and solar energy. Whereas Italy has the potential for advanced technology.

"I hope a successful collaboration between PT Pertamina and the Italian oil and gas company ENI will be able to further develop high-quality bio-refineries and biofuels," said Airlangga.

Meanwhile, to further strengthen diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Italy in particular, and with other European countries in general, the Government of Indonesia is waiting for conclusions from the Indonesia-EU negotiations on Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (I-EU CEPA).

"The agreement will pave the way for more trade, investment and technical cooperation. In this case, we value the position of the Italian Government in the issue of palm oil, an export commodity that is very important for Indonesia, "he concluded. (kemenperin)