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isiting Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday and expressed his government’s intention to broaden cooperation with Indonesia.

After the bilateral meeting at the Merdeka Palace, Gasparovic said that cooperation between the two countries’ was particularly good in terms of handling international issues of common concern.

The Slovak president, who is in Indonesia for a four-day state visit, said that his country planned to invest at least US$1 billion in Indonesia.

“There will be a specific agreement included and special treaties on this,” he said, adding that there was a broad field to explore in the areas of trade and agriculture, electricity, power plants and heavy machinery.

Gasparovic hoped that the deals would be concluded in Tuesday’s meeting.

Yudhoyono said that Slovak businesspeople were interested in investing in the construction of cement factories in West Papua and Central Java. “They also plan to build a tire factory in Tangerang and electricity power plants in Lombok and Batam,” Yudhoyono told the media.

The Coordinating Economic Minister, Hatta Radjasa, said that there would be 11 agreements signed on Tuesday.

“Currently, the value of the Slovak Republic’s trade with Indonesia is still less than $100 million. The deals are hoped to be a breakthrough for Slovakia. This is a new beginning,” Hatta said.

During the bilateral meeting with Slovak representatives, Yudhoyono proposed nine priorities of bilateral cooperation, including food and agriculture, renewable energy development, and banking.

On Tuesday, Gasparovic is scheduled to open the fifth Slovak Republic-Indonesia Business forum, which is expected to create more deals between the two countries.

The Slovak president also plans to visit Central Java and Yogyakarta later on Tuesday.