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ndonesia and Singapore have agreed to improve bilateral ties following a courtesy call meeting between President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday at the State Palace.

Balakrishnan, a former environment and water resources minister, was in Jakarta for a two-day introductory visit for his new post.

'€œThe President said that we have close ties and that improving relations and cooperation is imperative; mutually beneficial cooperation, naturally,'€ Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir, who accompanied Jokowi during the meeting, told reporters on Wednesday.

Singapore has long been one of Indonesia'€™s top trading partners and sources of investment. Data from the Foreign Ministry show that bilateral trade reached US$41.99 billion in 2014, the second-highest amount after China. Singapore has consistently been among the top five investors in Indonesia in the past five years, with $5.8 billion in investment in 2,056 projects in 2014.

During Wednesday'€™s meeting, Fachir said Balakrishnan had expressed appreciation for Indonesia'€™s efforts to improve the business climate through deregulation.

'€œOther than recognizing Indonesia'€™s potential, he also said he had great confidence in further investment in Indonesia,'€ Fachir added.

According to Fachir, Singapore also appreciates Indonesia'€™s efforts in tackling the annual haze that has often blanketed neighboring countries, including also Singapore.

'€œ[Balakrishnan] believes that the situation will be better in the future [for both countries] and expressed willingness to cooperate with Indonesia [in tackling haze],'€ Fachir said.

Jokowi visited Singapore in mid-2015 and held a meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at which the two reiterated their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in the economic sector. Jokowi also told a business forum of top Singaporean government and corporate officials not to miss the chance to invest more in Southeast Asia'€™s largest economy.

During his visit to Jakarta, Balakrishnan has also met with a number of ministers, including, on Tuesday, his counterpart Retno LP Marsudi.

The two discussed ways to improve Indonesia'€™s agribusiness exports to Singapore, as reported by Antara news agency.

Retno was quoted by Antara as saying that Singapore needed agriculture products and Indonesia could meet those needs.

Balakrishnan also met with Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara on Tuesday to discuss possible cooperation in the ICT sector and digital economy amid a growing Indonesian digital economy.

Balakrishnan also met with Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan on Tuesday morning; Luhut explained Indonesia'€™s efforts to improve the investment climate in the Batam-Bintan-Karimun Special Economic Zone (BBK). The two also briefly discussed issues related to the flight information region (FIR), amid Jakarta'€™s efforts to take over the management of airspace over Riau and Riau Islands provinces from Singapore in the next three years.

According to the Singaporean Foreign Ministry'€™s official website, Singapore sees the FIR as an issue not of sovereignty, but of commercial air traffic safety and efficiency.

Singapore has been managing the FIR over the area since 1946 and Indonesia'€™s efforts since 1993 to take over the airspace have so far been fruitless. The city-state controls airspace up to 110 nautical miles from its position, covering Batam, Dumai and Natuna '€” an arrangement that deprives Indonesia of authority over the airspace. As a consequence of the arrangement, patrols conducted by the Indonesian Air Force and Navy in the territory must also seek guidance from Singapore.
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