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View all search resultsSpain committed to increasing trade with RI: Envoy
Spanish Ambassador to Indonesia Francisco Jose Viqueira Niel has expressed his hope to improve economic relations between Indonesia and Spain, urging Spanish companies to invest and cooperate more with Indonesian firms
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S
panish Ambassador to Indonesia Francisco Jose Viqueira Niel has expressed his hope to improve economic relations between Indonesia and Spain, urging Spanish companies to invest and cooperate more with Indonesian firms.
Viqueira Niel said that the amount of cultural exchange between Indonesia and Spain was still rather low, given the size of both economies.
To improve economic relations between the two countries, Viqueira Niel urged Spanish companies to foster cooperation in investment and ventures to add to the amount of trade.
'My mission as ambassador is to foster best possible relations and diplomatic communication with Indonesia. I was told to focus more on improving the economic side of our bilateral relationship and I will do just that,' Viqueira Niel said in his speech at a Spanish national day celebration in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He added that the Spanish government would strive to build greater ties with the incoming Indonesian government led by president-elect Joko Widodo.
Viqueira Niel also elaborated on the relative successes of Spain in avoiding a national default through the implementation of unpopular reforms, which drew the ire of the Spanish public but ultimately saved the country from plunging into further problems.
Indonesian trade with Spain reached US$2.34 billion between January and November 2013, a 20.11 percent decline from trade figures in the same period in 2012. Indonesia is Spain's 62nd largest export market, with primary trade goods from Indonesia including palm oil, iron ore and coal.
In 2013, the two countries signed an agreement to boost defense partnership covering humanitarian and relief efforts as well as military development.
Spain celebrated Fiesta Nacional de Espana, or Spanish National Day on Oct. 12, which is also National Armed Forces Day. It commemorates the day that Portuguese explorer Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492.
It is also referred to as Columbus Day in the United States, where it is also regarded as a national holiday.
Diplomatic relations between Spain and Indonesia were formally established in 1958, following the opening of embassies in each of country's capital cities. Indonesia currently has an embassy in Madrid and consulates in Barcelona and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, while Spain maintains an embassy in Jakarta and a consulate in Denpasar, Bali. (dyl/ebf)
