Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will not reduce its commitment to cooperate with countries in the European Union despite debt crisis that hit the latter recently, an official said.

"Some EU countries are indeed facing a debt crisis. However, statistically it is not yet affecting the overall of Indonesia-EU`s trade value," newly appointed Indonesian Ambassador for The Netherlands Retno Marsudi said here on Wednesday.

She said from th period of January to August 2011, trade value between Indonesia and the EU had reached US$22.233 billion or increasing by 30.05 percent compared to the same period last year of US$17 billion.

The ambassador said the increase of trade value was understandable considering that only a small number of countries in the EU being hit by debt crisis.

"Indonesia will not reduce its commitment in building cooperation with the EU. We expect by the time the region `s economy is recovering, we will not loose our market there," she added.

The ambassador also said the government had taken several steps to anticipate impacts of the debt crisis in the EU and the United States towards the sales of Indonesian products such as conducting promotion in non traditional market countries (Middle East Europe and Latin America).(*)

A051/H-NG/O001

Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2011