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representative from Poland expressed the country'€™s interest in investing in heritage and tourism in Surakarta, Central Java, as part of its cooperation with regions across Indonesia.

First counselor Romuald Morawski from the Polish Embassy to Indonesia overseeing investment and trade promotion said that Polish investment in Surakarta would focus on maintenance and preservation of the city'€™s heritage.

'€œPoland has a long experience in managing and maintaining historical monuments,'€ Morawski said when meeting with Surakarta Deputy Mayor Achmad Purnomo at the City Hall earlier this week.

Among the heritage sites listed by the Polish counselor are the Kasunanan Surakarta and Pura Mangkunegaran palaces.

Morawski noted that despite the city being adjacent to Yogyakarta, the country'€™s second tourist destination after Bali, Surakarta had yet to maximize on its tourism potential. Surakarta is only some 60 kilometers to the east of Yogyakarta.

According to Morawski, some 10,000 Polish tourists visit Indonesia each year. Most of them head for Bali and Yogyakarta.

'€œIt'€™s not impossible to attract tourists visiting Yogyakarta to also include Surakarta in their destinations,'€ he said.

To make Surakarta an alternative tourist destination the city must provide the necessary information and it must offer activities that involve local traditional culture such as batik making, puppet (wayang) performances and gamelan concerts.

Head of the Surakarta chapter of the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Agency (BPPI), Hidayatullah Al Banjari, said that the city'€™s investment potential was in the trade and service sectors.

Achmad welcomed the investment plan conveyed by Morawski. He expressed the hope that the plan could be followed up very soon as Poland had also expressed interest in investing in the trade sector in Surakarta.

Poland has invested in the trade sector in Indonesia over the last four years, during this period there has been steady increase in the trade volume. It is reported that the trade volume between the two countries in 2009 was around ¤411.4 million (US$530 million) and the figure had increased to ¤578.6 million
by 2012.

Polish export commodities to Indonesia include agricultural machines, electronic devices, chemicals and military equipment.

'€œWe plan to have a seminar in June on investment opportunities in Surakarta and Poland,'€ Purnomo said.