Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The governments of Indonesia and the United Kingdom agreed to a two-fold increase in bilateral trade and investment, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi and her British counterpart Philip Hammond confirmed.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said at the Pancasila building, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, here on Wednesday that bilateral relations with the UK were on track and in good condition, heading in the right direction.

"Even though our bilateral trade and investment are in a good place, we agreed to reach a two-fold increase this year," she added.

At present, the UK is the fourth largest trade partner of Indonesia, with the trade value between the countries at US$2.7 billion. It is also the biggest investor from the European region, with a total US$1 billion in investments in 2013.

"Minister Hammond wants to double our efforts towards trade and investment. I agreed with him," Marsudi affirmed.

Besides trade and investment, both ministers discussed granting visa exception to diplomatic and state officials, and also ways to ease processes involved in granting regular visas to Indonesian citizens who wish to visit the UK.

A simpler visa procedure for diplomatic and state officials is expected to encourage investment and trade negotiations between the two countries, while the same for regular visas is aimed at enhancing interaction among people, as there are two thousand Indonesians studying in the UK and 230 thousand British tourists in Indonesia every year.

Minister Hammond also pointed out that the UK is keen on enhancing bilateral relations with Indonesia as it is considered one of the countries with massive potential for economic growth, besides India and China.

"Indonesia has potential to be the engine of growth in the region," he remarked.

Hammond also highlighted that the strength of the ties between the UK and Indonesia was reflected in the numerous British businesses that have been in operation in Indonesia for many years, particularly in the mining sector.

Moreover, the government of the UK is also keen on cooperating with Indonesia to strengthen international peace and stability, as well as to fight transnational crimes.

To enhance the bilateral relations, Indonesia and the UK hold the Annual Trade Talk, which has been organized twice so far. This year, Indonesia will host the third round of the event that will be led by the Ministry of Trade.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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