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ustralia has been all talk when it comes to investing in Indonesia, but now it is beginning to wake up to opportunities in the archipelago, says Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan.

In a speech delivered this week at the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club (JFCC), Gita said he had discussed investment with Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd during the Australian’s recent visit to Indonesia.

“So I told him, here’s the end game. The easiest way to talk is when we see investments made by Australians in Indonesia,” he said.

“We’ve been talking about it far too long, for three years with nothing getting done. How do I talk to parliamentarians? How do I talk to the Agriculture Minister when we’re not substantiating the script with real investments?”

The statement of Agriculture Minister Suswono on Indonesia’s plan to cut cattle imports by almost half compared to last year’s figure of 282,000 came on the back of improving domestic production. Indonesia currently imports live cattle from Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada.

As the largest exporters of cattle to Indonesia, Australian growers have been the first to raise concerns over the plan. They argue that the latest developments are retaliation for Australia’s “premature” decision to suspend live cattle exports to Indonesia in May, in the wake of video evidence showing the mistreatment of animals in Indonesian abatoirs.

Gita said he also discussed with Rudd the possibility of breeding cattle in Indonesia due to its temperate conditions, suggesting to Rudd that potentially, billions could be made.

“If I ever got fired by the government, I would want to be a beef entrepreneur,” he joked.

“Think of Indonesia as a place, not just as a market, but as a transitory hub for other places, which include China,” Gita told Rudd.

Gita said Rudd “woke up” after their conversations and arranged for three top Australian entrepreneurs to travel to Indonesia for an upcoming food security summit in February.

Rudd told him that Indonesia was in a great position in terms of trade and that he was excited about the possibilities.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) today released statistics that placed total real foreign investment into Indonesia in 2011 at Rp 175.3 trillion (US$19.28 billion), with Australia’s contribution at Rp 813.1 billion, just point 5 percent of the total.

A spokesman for Rudd said he had urged corporate Australia not to miss the opportunities associated with investing in Indonesia.

“Given the trajectory of Indonesia’s growth, closer trade ties and economic cooperation will transform the future of Australia’s relationship with Indonesia,” he said.

“Australia and Indonesia are already the two largest economies in the region, and as close neighbors it makes sense to strengthen all parts of the relationship.”

Gita said Indonesia and Australia ought to be trading at about Rp 217.5 trillion (US$ 24 billion), at least 1 percent of both countries’ combined GDP.

“We’ve got our work cut out and we’ve got to work our way up. I think we can do it as long as we have some substantial investment,” he said.

Rudd’s spokesman said he would welcome the visit of Gita to Australia to further discuss the Indonesian government’s vision for the future of its economy.