I am happy that the Italian President during his visit is accompanied by a 30-strong business delegation."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the visit of Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who was accompanied by a 30-member business delegation, will result in work contracts valued at US$1.055 billion.
"The Italian President and I have just discussed efforts to increase bilateral economic relations. I am happy that the Italian President during his visit is accompanied by a 30-strong business delegation," President Jokowi said at a joint press conference at the Merdeka Palace here on Monday.
"We discussed four main issues," President Jokowi, accompanied by Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the press conference, stated.
He said the first issue that was discussed concerned cooperation in leather industry, fashion and infrastructure while the second one was related to cooperation in the field of tourism.
Jokowi said the third main issue they talked about during the meeting was cooperation in the field of energy, including the use of crude palm oil as a source of renewable energy.
According to President Jokowi, the fourth issue that he discussed with the Italian President was increasing cooperation in the field of interfaith dialogues.
"The relations between Indonesia and Italy have been showing an upward trend with each passing year," Jokowi said.
The two-way Indonesia-Italy trade was recorded at US$4.01 billion in 2014 while the Italian investment stood at US$63.02 million.
The number of Italian tourists visiting Indonesia during the same year totaled 68 thousand persons.
"I am happy that in the meeting, we also signed a cooperation pact on extending visa-free facility for holders of diplomatic passports and service passports as well as cooperation in the tourism sector," the Indonesian President said.
Referring to another bilateral issue, the Indonesian President said he discussed with the Italian President the issue of migration which Europe is grappling with now.
According to Jokowi, the visit of the Italian President will prove to be a historic one for the future of bilateral relations.
"This is the first visit by an Italian President in 66 years," he said.
In the meantime, President Mattarella said his visit to Indonesia was his first outside the Mediterranean region.
"We (Indonesia and Italy) already have good cooperation. There is a big potential to better serve the interest of the two nations and reinforce their cooperation," he said.
Mattarella also thanked Indonesia for its participation in the Milan Expo which attracted millions of visitors.
(Uu.A014/INE/KR-BSR/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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