Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and New Zealand agreed to continue to improve economic cooperation at the 8th Joint Ministerial Commission meeting.

The meeting was jointly held by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters at Gedung Pancasila, Jakarta, on Friday.

"Economic cooperation between the two countries is important to be increased," Marsudi marked.

Indonesia and New Zealand have set a trade target of US$2.65 billion.

The value of Indonesia-New Zealand bilateral trade in 2017 increased by 15 percent to $1.18 billion. The increase in the value of bilateral trade also occurred in the first semester of 2018, which amounted to 10.6 percent and reached US$760 million.

"The determination to improve mutual trade cooperation will continue to be carried out," Marsudi noted.

At the meeting, the Indonesian government urged New Zealand to offer greater access to Indonesian fruit products, including of bananas, mangoes, and pineapples.

Marsudi also requested New Zealand to provide access to Indonesian animal feed products.

In terms of investment, the two foreign ministers encouraged the existing investment plan between Indonesia and New Zealand to be implemented immediately.

Marsudi also emphasized the importance of efforts to improve air connectivity between the two countries to support cooperation through "people-to-people contact," which in turn will have an impact on tourism.

The number of tourists from New Zealand visiting Indonesia in 2017 had reached more than 100 thousand people.

Furthermore, the governments of both countries agreed to improve the implementation of commitments for development in the 2017-2022 period, especially in the fields of renewable energy, agriculture, education, and disaster management.
Reporting by Yuni Arisandy
Editing by Yashinta Difa Pramudyani

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Yosep Hariyadi
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