Government Encourages Strengthening Trade And Investment With France

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto (Photo: Antara)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto met with Chairman of the France-Indonesia Business Council Philippe Louis-Dreyfus.

The meeting was also attended by the MEDEF International delegation consisting of representatives of leading French companies, such as Eramet, Airbus, Alstom, Ardian, CMA CGM, Veolia, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, and RATP Dev.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the meeting was aimed at strengthening economic and investment relations between Indonesia and France which were in line with the vision of the two countries in increasing strategic cooperation in various key sectors.

Meanwhile, the total trade value between Indonesia and France in 2024 will reach around US$2.4 billion.

Airlangga hopes that, through strengthening trade and investment in various strategic sectors, cooperation between the two countries can continue to increase in the future.

"Indonesia has more than 20 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) spread across various regions, which can be a strategic location for French investment in Indonesia," he said in his statement, Friday, February 21.

In addition, Airlangga said that there was a plan to establish the Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara) as the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) from Indonesia.

According to him, the presence of BPI Danantara is expected to become a strategic instrument in attracting foreign investment, strengthening infrastructure project financing, and encouraging sustainable economic growth in Indonesia.

"In the tourism sector, President Prabowo is committed to building North Bali International Airport in Buleleng Regency as part of efforts to increase Indonesia's tourism sector and make Bali a global economic and tourism center," said Airlangga.

Airlangga said that the Indonesian government would also underline the importance of accelerating the completion of the European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (I-EU CEPA) in order to increase cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, and industry between the two parties.

"For this reason, support from the private French sector to encourage these negotiations to immediately reach an agreement that benefits both parties is very much needed," said Airlangga.

On the same occasion, Philippe explained that several MEDEF International Delegations had met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in July 2024 and were deeply impressed by his vision and commitment to advancing the economic, infrastructure and energy sectors.

"President Prabowo's vision is very clear and concrete, namely strengthening in the economic, infrastructure and energy sectors will continue to develop significantly in the next few years," said Philippe.

For information, in addition to French companies such as Eramet and Loreal that have been operating in Indonesia, France also has many middle companies that have special expertise in various strategic sectors, including construction and infrastructure that want to cooperate with partners in Indonesia.

The MEDEF International delegation also said that the mineral sector was critical and energy was an important aspect for France.

To that end, the MEDEF International delegation has a strong desire to build a strategic dialogue with Indonesia regarding critical minerals, in line with France's similar efforts at the global level.

In addition, discussions also included plans for French Republic President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Jakarta in May 2025.

The visit is expected to be an important momentum for strengthening bilateral cooperation with the possibility of announcing a number of strategic economic agreements for the two countries.

The MEDEF International delegation also highlighted that the cooperation plan between PT PLN (Persero) and Hydrogen de France (HDF Energy) in the development of the green hydrogen project in Sumba and this collaboration is expected to be agreed upon during President Macron's visit to Indonesia.