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s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo rightly notes, Indonesia’s international cooperation should be bringing concrete gains for the country. High-level meetings and foreign trips make sense as long as they bring prosperity to Indonesia.

In this light, the visit of Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marek Magierowski in Jakarta is a beneficial one. Started on Wednesday, the visit promises to be a pivotal moment for Poland-Indonesia relations.

The key phrase: the United Nations Security Council. Poland is a non-permanent member of the body. Indonesia has high chances for becoming one for the term 2019-2020. This creates interesting possibilities for launching joint peace and disarmament initiatives in 2019.

Beyond the usual political consultations, the visit is a time of talking business. Entrepreneurs from both countries will strive to establish ties during Poland-Indonesia’s economic forum held on Thursday.

Why is it important? Our economies, like our national flags, are complementary. Despite that, Poland and Indonesia’s bilateral trade remains modest, staying under US$1 billion in 2017. It is however bound to grow, with a few key industries to watch.

One of them is shipbuilding. Being a maritime fulcrum at the ocean crossroads, a reliable sea-going ship and ferry technology is the key. The Polish shipyards and the largest Indonesia’s shipyard in Surabaya already expressed interest in partnering to respond to the growing needs.

Another area is energy. Being the world’s second largest exporter of coal, Indonesia seeks ecological and cost-effective technologies to change it into energy. Polish companies stand ready to team up with Indonesian partners to make coal a greener fuel.

An example of that is a power plant in Lombok, soon to be constructed with a partnership of the Polish company Rafako. After all, countries should not shy away from using their natural energy resources in a sustainable way.

Finally, there are agricultural products that shall make rounds both ways. Indonesian exotic fruits deserve more appreciation in Europe. Polish world-renowned apples, with a slightly sour flavor, shall be offered in Indonesian grocery stores. These and other business opportunities will be explored by the newly-founded Polish Agency of Trade and Investment office in Jakarta.

Education is another area deserving attention. Polish universities and vocational schools offer education in English comparable to that of Western Europe, yet for much cheaper prices.

The maritime, technical and medical universities stand ready to educate much larger numbers of young Indonesians. Soon another group of them will receive the Polish Ignacy Łukasiewicz scholarship for undergraduate and postgraduate technical studies and kickstart their careers.

Along with them, a career of a particular talent is about to take off. Egy Maulana Vikri, a 17-year old soccer player from Medan, North Sumatra, has just signed his first professional contract with a Polish club, Lechia Gdańsk. If that port city results to be fertile ground for his career, Egy will be able to help Indonesia to qualify for the World Cup U-20, to be organized by Poland in 2019.

Gdańsk and nearby Gdynia are cities not only famed by shipyards and Egy’s tackling skills. From Gdynia a Polish tall ship “Dar Młodzieży” will soon set sails for a cruise around the world. In September this year, the ship will visit Jakarta to mark the 100th anniversary of the regaining of Poland’s independence.

It will be just a symbol, but a telling one: after all, Poland and Indonesia are not that far from each other. It is just the sea between us.
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The writer is Ambassador of Poland to Indonesia.