TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi, held a bilateral meeting with the French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Marc Ayrault at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters on Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
"I just held a bilateral meeting with France's Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Marc Ayrault. He also held a courtesy visit to President Jokowi this morning," Says Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi on Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
Both foreign affairs ministries also discussed the preparation of a state visit by French President Francois Hollande to Indonesia in the near future.
Both countries also signed a renewed MoU on the topic of education and diplomatic training between Indonesia and France. There was also an outer space activity partnership MoU that was signed by the Chairman of the Centre national d'etudes spatiales (CNES) and Chairman of the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN).
"Our partnership in diplomatic and space activities will add weight to an already great relationship," Foreign Minister Retno said.
One of the main topic discussed during the meeting was the economic partnership, especially in the sector of investments, trade, creative economics, the access to Indonesia’s palm oil products, and Indonesia’s FLEG-T licensed lumber products. They also discussed the construction of Infrastructure Development of Space Oceanography (INDESO).
"We also discussed our attempts in accelerating the completion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Indonesia and the European Union," Retno stated.
The value of Indonesia-France bilateral trade in 2016 has reached US$ 2.34 billion. Meanwhile, France's total investment realization throughout the period of 2010 – 2015 reached US$ 730.08 million.
ANTARA