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riven by Indonesia’s enormous potential, state officials and business people from several European countries such as Norway and Denmark have recently visited the country seeking out fresh opportunities in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The latest visit was made by the Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD. The Jakarta Post’s Linda Yulisman recently talked to the minister about his views on economic relations between Indonesia and Ireland at present and ways to enhance future ties. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Question: Could you mention what brings you to Indonesia?

Answer: I suppose there are two issues. The Irish government uses this time of the year, on St. Patrick’s Day, to reach out to the global community. Traditionally, senior Irish ministers went to the United States or Canada or Australia, but there was a specific decision that I should come at this time of the year to Southeast Asia and in particular to Indonesia. I think there is recognition of the growing importance of Indonesia in economic terms.

It is a country that we have had a good trading relationship with. So, I want to strengthen the trade and the interaction, the tourist exchange and the educational exchange between Indonesia and Ireland.

Secondly, Ireland has the presidency of the European Union. Having this important position, I obviously have a role to play in looking to advance the comprehensive economic partnership agreement [CEPA] between the European Union and Indonesia.

You mentioned that you want to deepen trade with Indonesia. What will Ireland do to boost bilateral trade with Indonesia?

One of the things is to hear the views of the companies, both Irish firms trying to do business here and Indonesians who are doing business with Irish companies or in Ireland to see what are their challenges, what are the issues that need to be addressed or to see how we can address the issues to make it easier to do business, to facilitate trade platforms.

And if I put Ireland on the map, I am very conscious that Indonesia is an enormous country. Ireland is very far away and we can sometimes get blurred into the European Union. We want to ensure that the profile of Ireland is understood as a place that is good to do business, that is supportive of trade links, and particularly with Indonesia, to have people thinking that maybe there are potential links that Irish businessmen in Indonesia could have with Ireland or Irish companies, and to map out how they can be done by contact with Enterprise Ireland, by contact through the IDA [Industrial Development Authority], or our embassy in Singapore.

Does Ireland have any specific target in bilateral trade within the next five years?

We haven’t set a specific target with Indonesia because we need to scope what is the potential, which we haven’t done yet. I think the one thing that is certain is that we can do a lot more business than what we are doing, and not only trade but tourism. We can develop the tourism potential, as I hear there is a growing middle class, a growing affluence in Indonesia. We want to ensure that Ireland is part of the European itinerary. If [Indonesian] people go, maybe, to London, they can go to Ireland too.

Right now, the presence of business entities from Ireland is not as strong as from some other European Union countries. Is there any measure that you plan in order to increase their presence?

Sure, not all European countries have full embassies here, and small countries like our own don’t. But I think it’s been said to me that we are the most active country without a full embassy here.

The fact that for the first time in a long time there is a senior minister here is underscoring the new focus that Ireland is putting on Indonesia. I should go back and reflect on the message I’ve heard and I think there’s a potential for strengthening the presence of Ireland and its agencies in Jakarta.

Indonesia will be a very significant focus in the region. When you see that we have an embassy in Malaysia and Singapore, certainly there’s a compelling case that we should consider. Obviously there’s economic pressure on our administration budget but I think it would be a uniform view that any expansion in this region would focus on Indonesia.

In terms of investment, what potential are you seeking in Indonesia right now?

Well, I hope it will be in two areas. There are Irish companies that we’ve seen want to invest in Indonesia. We have technology that we have created through our own education system and investment in new technology that can be
transformed into the marketplace in Indonesia. For example, you’ve seen evidence for the transport sector here where transport is a major issue and if you look around the city in Jakarta, you’ll see that.

New technology can facilitate improvement in the transport system and we have developed in Ireland a lot of technology that might be of assistance.

We also see potential for a mutually beneficial partnership for companies in Ireland and Indonesia in different sectors of investment, either in the bio-farmer area or in the communications area.

In terms of actual investment, there are significant resources in Indonesia that are looking for good investment in Europe, and Ireland represents investment in Europe. It’s a gateway to the European market, and we want to facilitate investors who see any potential to invest, either in the European Union through Ireland, or in Ireland as a stand-alone country. And of course we’ll encourage Irish investors to come here and invest as well.