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ndonesia and Mexico celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties this year. Mexican Foreign Minister José Antonio Meade Kuribreña described Indonesia as important partner, given the similarities the two countries' share. He talks to The Jakarta Post's Bagus BT Saragih about untapped potential for cooperation, on the sidelines of the sixth foreign minister meeting of the Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) in Nusa Dua, Bali, last week.

Question: How do you see our relationship so far?

Answer: Indonesia is a very important partner with more than US$1.1 billion trade value, most being imports that Mexico bought from Indonesia. There is a high presence of Mexican goods in Indonesia. There is also important investment by Mexico in Indonesia as well, particularly Kidzania [Mexican family entertainment center]. However, there is still more opportunity for trade, investment, cultural exchange and education. Indonesia is an important tourist and cultural destination for Mexico. A very well-known Mexican painter Miguel Covarrubias spent some time here. We will hope to have an opportunity to showcase his important works as part of the friendship anniversary events.

Do you think FEALAC can contribute to better relations between the two countries as well as other
member states?

When the [Southeast Asian] region was recovering from the banking crisis, Latin America was also overcoming problems, but today both are dynamic regions. This forum brings together, what are now, two very important regions in the world. FEALAC facilitates regional, sub-regional and bilateral dialogue.

What sectors do you think are the most potential and should be prioritized in the future?

I think Mexico and Indonesia share some very important characteristics; our demographic and size of our economies. That means Mexican companies should do well in Indonesia and their counterparts that are doing well in Indonesia should try Mexico as well. Given that Mexico offers access to both the North American and Latin American market, Indonesia can also be the gateway to the rest of Asia for us. There are a lot of opportunities for Mexican companies here. There is also a lot of opportunity for a high-degree of cultural exchange. We both share important historical traditions. Our relationship is 60 years old but that has yet to be reflected in the size of trade and exchange of people and experience.

Mexico is not familiar to some Indonesians and vice versa. Is this knowledge gap another challenge?

That is why FEALAC is important, precisely to close this knowledge gap. Indonesia, to Mexico, is on the other side of the world. So, we do have to try to work through student exchanges, opportunities between colleges and cultural exchanges, because the more we get to know each other, the more opportunities we will identify.

What about the geographical gap?

It is a challenge. It has been a challenge for generations but I think it is something that we can now overcome. With greater connectivity and better logistics we ensure better engagement.