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t only took 13 minutes for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to cast a spell on some 200 German business leaders in a forum in Berlin as he updated Indonesia’s business potentials prior to witnessing the signing of deals worth US$875 million.

Jokowi earned the applause from the audience when he opened his speech comparing himself to former US president John F. Kennedy, who made the memorable statement “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner) when visiting Germany at the height of the Cold War.

“If Kennedy, not far from this place, 50 years ago said so, I would prefer to say ‘Ich bin ein Kölner’ [I am a Cologne person], because 15 years ago I came to Cologne for the International Meubel Messe as a furniture entrepreneur and furniture exporter,” Jokowi said.

Germany is Jokowi’s first stop in five-day European tour that also includes visits to the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Jokowi told the audience that they should not worry about investing in Indonesia as his administration was conducting a massive deregulation program with the launch of 11 policy packages to assure the world that Indonesia meant business.

Indonesia’s economic growth, he said, was consistently stable at around 5 percent amid declining growth in other emerging economies. As a result of the reforms, Jokowi said that many foreign factories in China were relocating to Indonesia to enjoy a more investment-friendly environment.

In his closing remarks Jokowi received more applause when he said that he liked the way German people did business. “I am like the German people, I don’t like to talk a lot but I like to do a lot,” Jokowi said.

German investment in Indonesia remains small compared to that of the UK and Netherlands.

According to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), German investment amounted to only US$552 million between 2010 and 2015 in 547 projects. This accounts for less than 1 percent of German investment worldwide.

In the forum, the former Jakarta governor witnessed the signing of a deal between state-run diversified miner PT Aneka Tambang and Ferrostaal Group and Cronimet Corp. worth $800 million for a stainless steel manufacturing plant in Pomala, Central Sulawesi.

German shipyard Meyer Werft GmbH and Indonesian state sea transportation operator PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) also inked a deal worth $40 million while Indonesia’s second-largest pulp and paper company, Asia-Pacific Resources International Limited (April), sealed a $35 million deal with its German partner Inapa Group.

Jokowi also took the chance to have private meetings with Ferrostaal CEO Klaus Lesker and Bayer AG member of management board Erica Mann.

Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Rosan Roeslani, who accompanied the President, said the signed deals would be a precursor for more investment from Germany.

“The agreements will make a real contribution to the national economy,” Rosan said.

Kadin vice chairwoman for international relations Shinta Widjaja said Jokowi was accompanied on his visit by Indonesian business delegations from a number of fields including energy, industry, agribusiness and maritime.