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ndonesia and Poland have agreed to strengthen economic cooperation as the partners ride on the momentum of increased trade and investment, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said after bilateral talks on Monday.

The minister met with her Polish counterpart, Jacek Czaputowicz, in Jakarta in the first visit of a Polish foreign minister to the capital in 21 years.

“Poland is an important partner for Indonesia in Central Europe. Indonesia-Poland economic cooperation continues to grow. In terms of trade, for instance, there has been an increase of 24.8 percent from January to August in 2018 compared to the same period last year,” Retno told reporters.

According to Trade Ministry figures, two-way trade was valued at US$524.9 million last year.

The principle agreement comes off the back of concerted efforts by Polish businesses to seek entry into the Indonesian market, with the European Union member state fielding a 22-member strong business delegation to the 33rd Trade Expo Indonesia in Tangerang, Banten last month, at the invitation of the Indonesian Embassy in Warsaw.

The Polish Investment and Trade Agency is also launching on Tuesday its newly renovated office in the heart of Jakarta’s business district, with Czaputowicz set to attend.

“We hope it can contribute to the further development of our relations in economy and trade,” the Polish minister said in a joint press statement after the meeting.

In addition to trade, Retno said Polish investment in Indonesia reached nearly $20 million last year, a significant increase from $1.6 million in 2016.

Furthermore, the number of Polish tourists to Indonesia had doubled in recent years, the minister said, with 32,000 Polish tourists arriving in Indonesia last year from 15,000 four years ago.

“We agreed to use the current momentum to intensify and strengthen economic cooperation, including by intensifying business interaction, expanding access to our competitive products [...] and the opening of a direct flight from Warsaw to Denpasar [Bali] to boost our tourist sector,” she said.

The partners are also working together to complete the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), she added. Indonesia and the EU recently concluded the sixth round of negotiations on the trade pact last month.

Meanwhile, Poland sought to balance out Indonesia’s trade surplus, with Czaputowicz saying that the Central European nation had a lot on offer for Indonesia, both in the traditional sectors and in advanced, innovative and cutting-edge technological solutions.

“The interest of Polish enterprises in investing in Indonesia is on the rise,” he said.

The foreign minister cited an agreement between Polish engineering, procurement and construction contractor Rafako and Indonesia’s Rekayasa Industry to build a 2 by 50 megawatt power plant for state electricity company PLN in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

On the multilateral front, the two sides talked about cooperating closely beginning next year, when both countries are represented at the United Nations Security Council.

On the second day of his visit, Czaputowicz is set to meet with Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin to discuss interfaith issues and open an exhibition on the Polish Muslim Tatar community, one of the oldest in Europe’s vast history. (tjs)