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RI, Luxembourg FMs to meet for bilateral talks

Indonesia will seek to consult with Luxembourg on its expertise in finance and banking, as the two countries plan to exchange views and work toward closer bilateral ties at a meeting in Indonesia next week

Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post)
Sat, May 27, 2017

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RI, Luxembourg FMs to meet for bilateral talks

I

ndonesia will seek to consult with Luxembourg on its expertise in finance and banking, as the two countries plan to exchange views and work toward closer bilateral ties at a meeting in Indonesia next week.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi will host her counterpart from Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, when the two top diplomats meet in Jakarta for bilateral consultations at the end of this month.

As Indonesia’s fourth largest European investor, minister Retno will seek to entice Luxembourg to inject more money into the country, especially off the back of Jakarta’s success in regaining its investment grade status from financial services index provider Standard & Poor.

Of particular interest to Indonesia will be Luxembourg’s pedigree as the Eurozone’s leading financial center, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index 21 published in March.

“Indonesia’s relationship with Luxembourg has been quite intensive, particularly for cooperation in the field of finance and investments,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said on Friday.

According to data cited from the Investment Coordinating Board (BPKM), the tiny monarchy posted US$181.9 million in realized investments from 117 projects last year, up from $66.6 million from 37 projects in 2015.

Dino Kusnadi, the ministry’s director for European affairs region I encompassing Western Europe, said Indonesia would focus on expanding banking cooperation with the small European monarchy, which is home to approximately 600,000 people.

“We’re so used to turning to Switzerland or the UK as centers of finance, but now we have to take account of Luxembourg,” Dino said after the weekly press briefing in Central Jakarta.

He said Luxembourg was “very enthusiastic” about strengthening bilateral relations with Indonesia, and that conversely, Jakarta stands to benefit from the grand duchy’s expertise in banking and finances.

As such, the ministry is looking into possibilities for Luxembourg to share its best practices in the financial sector, as well as capacity building for Indonesia’s human resources.

An agreement with Bank Indonesia or the Financial Services Authority (OJK) is likely to follow, Dino said.

Additionally, a number of outcome documents are plotted for the bilateral meeting, from a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in air transport with the Transportation Ministry, to a deal in telecommunications and satellite technology.

The director touched upon the growing trend of European leaders and high-ranking officials visiting Indonesia in the past few months, from France, Italy and the Netherlands to Slovenia, Georgia and Lithuania.

“Among Europe’s elites you could say we’ve become one of the darlings of the Europeans,” Dino said of the rising interest of European countries in Indonesia.

Luxembourg’s Asselborn is the latest of Europe’s top diplomats to visit the Indonesian capital, and the first of the two countries’ high-level encounters since 2015, when Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

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