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ndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will make his first official visit to Indonesia on Oct. 11 after attending the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Brunei Darussalam. After almost 10 years as government head, and after two previous working visits in 2005 (for the 50th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference in Jakarta) and 2011 (for the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit in Bali), the prime minister will finally be able to visit Indonesia in his official capacity as a state guest .

Of course, within the context of Indonesia-India relations, this visit is especially important as it will feature a bilateral meeting between the Indonesian and Indian delegations. The heads of both countries are also slated to witness the signing of several bilateral agreements, memorandum of understandings (MoUs) and issue a joint statement on their current bilateral relations and cooperation.

The visit also bears significance as both countries are in the final year before general elections in 2014. Suffice it to say, the result of the Prime Minister'€™s visit will provide a road map for the next governments of the two countries in the pursuit of strengthening and deepening bilateral relations and cooperation in all areas and fields.

The past decade or so has seen rapid progress in Indonesia-India ties, surpassing all the achievements made in previous years during more than 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two.

Perhaps the most notable and significant achievement was the establishment of a strategic partnership between Indonesia and India in 2005 during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s first of three visits to India, followed by a joint statement six years later in 2011 called Vision for the India-
Indonesia New Strategic Partnership, which was aimed at solidifying and giving clear direction for existing strategic partnerships.

Another indicator of the ever increasing and intensifying bilateral cooperation between the two countries are the numerous memorandum of agreements (MoA) that have been signed by the governments, business enterprises and even Press Councils, of the two countries since 2005 onward '€” including 34 MoUs/agreements signed in 2011 '€” which indeed reflect the strong determination of both sides to seriously take the ongoing bilateral cooperation to a higher level.

While most of the agreements made have yet to be followed-up on and implemented, one can see the bright prospect of bilateral cooperation in providing maximum benefits for their people in the future.

Economic ties are currently the focus of bilateral cooperation. Since the establishment of strategic partnership in 2005, numerous economic cooperation undertakings between the two countries have increased in frequency as well as amount.

Right after the establishment of strategic partnership in 2005, trade between the two countries stood at approximately US$4.5 billion, and the ministers of trade/commerce of both sides set a target of $10 billion for 2010.

This was achieved at the end of 2009, and by the end of 2010 it surpassed the $12 billion mark.

Such an achievement brought about a very positive vibes on both sides. A new target of $25 billion was set to be reached in 2015, as stated in the 2011 joint statement.

Currently, our bilateral trade stands at approximately $18 billion, which makes it somewhat more difficult to reach the $25 billion in two years time, particularly with the current economic slowdown in both countries.

True, this recent economic development might give us a reason to not be too optimistic about increasing trade in the near future.

By the same token, however, who would have predicted the rapid increase achieved in our trade between 2005 and 2010? While we have to be fully aware of the extra efforts that need to be put forward by both sides to accomplish our trade objectives amid these difficult times, there is another avenue that could give an impetus for trade increase, namely, foreign direct investment (FDI).

During President Yudhoyono'€™s visit to New Delhi in 2011, 18 MoUs on FDI totaling $15 billion by India in Indonesia were signed by the business sectors of both sides, ranging from mining to infrastructure.

Most of the agreements/MoUs are still in their initial implementation stages in Indonesia. Once these investment undertakings are successfully implemented in Indonesia, conceivably trade would be affected positively and would continue according to the plan.

Of course, efforts to boost trade and investment require concrete measures from all stakeholders both in Indonesia and India by improving regulations and the mechanisms. What is needed is simply more hard work at both ends.

Another issue of importance that begs serious attention is direct flights between Indonesia and India. Ever since Garuda Indonesia stopped flying from Jakarta to Mumbai in the late 1980s/early 1990s, and Air India reciprocated in mid-2000s, direct flights between the two countries no longer existed.

The Indonesian government has recently assigned the newly established Batik Air to be its designated airline to cover routes between the two countries, and the Indian government has approved the assignment. Perhaps India may want to resume direct flights to Indonesia.

The meeting of our two leaders during the historic visit of Prime Minister Singh to Indonesia provides everybody concerned with the Indonesia-India bilateral relations with an opportunity to further contemplate and strengthen the determination to bring about the highest intensity of engagement between the two nations, which have historically and culturally been linked for more than a millennium, in the form of robust and mutually beneficial bilateral relations and cooperation.

The writer is Indonesian ambassador to India.