TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Indonesia to welcome Timor Leste’s president, Japan’s FM

Indonesia is hosting two important dignitaries next week as Timor Leste’s President Francisco Guterres and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono are visiting separately for bilateral talks

Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, June 23, 2018

Share This Article

Change Size

Indonesia to welcome Timor Leste’s president, Japan’s FM

I

ndonesia is hosting two important dignitaries next week as Timor Leste’s President Francisco Guterres and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono are visiting separately for bilateral talks.

Guterres, inaugurated only on May 20, is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Thursday in Bogor Palace, West Java. This is Guterres’ first visit to Indonesia and his first official state trip abroad.

Meanwhile, Kono will meet Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi on Monday before paying a courtesy call to Jokowi.

Kono is also to view the MRT project site at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

Guterres was initially scheduled to visit in 2017, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told a press briefing on Friday.

Timor Leste just formed a new government after parliament was dissolved in January. The new Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak was sworn in on Friday.

Arrmanatha further said that the issue of double taxation, investment and connectivity between Indonesia and Timor Leste would be the main issues disccused by Guterres and Jokowi.

“Timor Leste is very close to us geographically and historically. Hence, our economies too are closely connected,” he said.

The discussion is expected to improve economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the infrastructure, finance, banking, tourism and transportation sectors.

Arrmanatha said that in 2016, Indonesia had 18 projects worth at US$600 million in Timor Leste. In addition, Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) invested a total of US$595 million there.

“The $595-million investments were made by our SOEs, such as Bank BRI, Bank Mandiri, Pertamina and Telkom,” he said, adding that the two countries had agreed to build a toll road in Timor Leste.

Meanwhile, Kono would also take his first trip to Indonesia since he assumed his post in 2017.

“One of the main reasons for his visit is to conduct a bilateral meeting for the 60th anniversary of Indonesian-Japanese diplomatic relations,” Arrmanatha said.

The two ministers would also discuss regional and global issues, such as the Korean Peninsula peace process, ASEAN-Japanese cooperation and the rising “Indo-Pacific” concept.

Kono and Retno are expected to highlight economic and trade cooperation as the value of trade between them has been increasing, Arrmanatha said.

According to the ministry’s data, the total value of their two-way trade in 2016 was $29 billion and it rose to $33 billion in 2017. In this year’s first quarter, the value already reached $9.3 billion.

An increase was also seen in the value of Japanese investments in Indonesia during the past four years. In 2015, Japan invested $2.87 billion, higher than the $2.7 billion in 2014. The figure almost doubled in 2016 to $5.4 billion with 3,300 projects, including MRT works.

However, in 2017 Japan booked only $5 billion in investments and as of the first quarter of this year the country had invested $1.35 billion in Indonesia.

“We want Indonesia to be Japan’s industrial hub. Considering our economic size, we can surely direct to there,” said Arrmanatha. “Therefore, we have been encouraging cooperation on infrastructure while developing seaports and tourism.”

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.