This year on Dec. 29, Indonesia and Italy will mark the 75th anniversary of their bilateral relations. The cordial relations and robust friendship between the two countries have thrived since 1949, with Italy being one of the first European countries to recognize Indonesia’s independence.

Cooperation between them has continued to grow positively, in particular when the two countries signed an agreement to establish a Bilateral Consultation Forum in 2009. At the head of state level, president Sergio Mattarella visited Indonesia in November 2015, while bilateral talks have been held on the sidelines of global forums such as Group of 20 summits. The 2015 visit laid an important foundation toward stronger Indonesia-Italy relations.

In an era when addressing multifaceted challenges and maintaining globalization is a key priority, it is easy to see why Italy should pay attention to Indonesia as a rising and fast-growing G20 economy. Here’s why.

First, in the bilateral context, Indonesia and Italy have forged cooperation in various sectors. The cooperation has the potential to be further enhanced, particularly in the economic field. Italy is one of Indonesia’s important partners in the European Union. Individually, Italy is the third-largest trading partner of Indonesia in the EU.

Bilateral trade and investment have become common concerns on both sides, especially the long engagement of Italian entrepreneurs, business entities and the private sector in Indonesia, especially in the fields of energy, automotive and infrastructure. This is the case with Piaggio, which has opened a new Vespa factory in Cikarang, West Java, and ENI’s plan to expand cooperation and investment in the recent big gas discovery off the East Kalimantan shores.

Indonesia’s open and vibrant economy has created greater opportunities for more strategic cooperation between the two G20 member states in various important sectors. To name one, cooperation in defense industry and strategic sectors should be able to open new opportunities by exploring more possibilities for the transfer of technology, capacity-building and sharing best practices, as well as a local component arrangement in the future.

One potential area is palm oil, in which Italy could play an important role in ensuring fair treatment and ending discrimination against Indonesia’s primary commodity.