The European Union is looking to plug in deeper to Indonesian maritime and infrastructure sectors on the back of the government'€™s maritime-axis vision, expecting the two parties to live up to the full potential of their bilateral partnership.

EU Council President Herman van Rompuy said on Wednesday that the union saw great potential for expanding cooperation with the new Indonesian government over the next five years, particularly in supporting the country'€™s vision on maritime and infrastructure development.

'€œI was particularly interested yesterday [Tuesday] to hear President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo talk of his vision for Indonesia as a maritime axis ['€¦]. I was also interested in your President'€™s plans to upgrade Indonesia'€™s infrastructure ['€¦],'€ he said in his opening remarks during a Europe-Indonesia business dialogue.

Speaking at the same event, European Business Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) Indonesia chairman Jakob Friis Sorensen said that the EU had held intensive discussion about investment and partnership opportunities with local partners in a number of sectors, namely automotive, agriculture, infrastructure, maritime and logistics.

'€œThese sectors are sectors that the EU has been working on for several years ['€¦]. Today is about assessing the barriers ['€¦]. We have a chance [to discuss] with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) to come up with recommendations [to the Indonesian government],'€ he said.

Kadin chairman Suryo Bambang Sulisto said that the EU had become an increasingly important trade partner for Indonesia, with trade value between the two reaching $24.6 billion last year.

As of September this year, the EU has surpassed Japan to become Indonesia'€™s second-largest investor, with total foreign direct investments (FDI) hitting '‚¬3.2 billion (US$4.01 billion), more than its total FDI in the country last year of $2.4 billion.

From EU'€™s total FDI to the country last year, 42 percent went to the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, 21 percent to mining, and the remaining 37 percent to various sectors, including agriculture and infrastructure-related sectors, according to data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

Sorensen said that despite the EU'€™s considerable investment in Indonesia, the figure was still behind those of a number of Asian countries.

'€œThe EU'€™s total investment to Asia hit over $100 million, of which only between 1 and 2 percent flew to Indonesia,'€ he said, adding that streamlining regulation would substantially improve investment.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla assured that his administration was very much committed to cutting red tape and easing the process of acquiring business licenses in the country.

'€œWithin a few months, there will be a special group within the BKPM tasked with streamlining business license procedures,'€ he said.

The Trade Ministry'€™s director general for foreign trade, Bachrul Chairi, said, meanwhile, that both the EU and Indonesia should find a solution to a number of issues to eventually reach the potential value of the two'€™s partnership.

The EU imposed a 13.2 percent tariff on Indonesia'€™s crude palm oil (CPO), a figure considered too high by most palm oil producers in the country, he said.

For Indonesia, the EU is the second-largest export market for its CPO product after India. For the union'€™s market, meanwhile, Indonesia'€™s CPO accounts for 50 percent of the EU'€™s total imported palm oil.

Bachrul said that according to agreements under the World Trade Organization (WTO), Indonesia might impose up a tariff of up to 47 percent on agriculture products entering to the country, and the EU might impose up to a 13.7 percent tariff on CPO.

'€œThe thing is that we have slashed import duty on agriculture products [including those from the EU] to only 8 percent. So, a 13.2 percent tariff on our CPO is too high,'€ he said.

European Commission directorate general for trade, Helena König, said, however, that such measures were also applied by many other