Estonia and Finland intensifying economic ties with Indonesia

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, who is currently in Indonesia together with Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb and an Estonian and Finnish business delegation, said at the Estonia-Finland-Indonesia business seminar in Jakarta that closer economic ties between the countries would lead to intensified political communication as well as technological progress in the world, the Estonian Foreign Ministry reports. “Estonia is interested in strengthening economic ties and trade relations with Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and a country with a very dynamic economic environment,” he noted.

Foreign Minister Paet said that the Estonian entrepreneurs participating in the Indonesia visit offer the top solutions and products in their respective fields. “We hope that Indonesian entrepreneurs will be interested in working together,” he said.

Paet also called on Indonesian companies to invest in Estonia. “Estonia has an open economy and many information technology solutions that simplify business and transactions,” he added.

At his meeting in Jakarta with Minister of Trade Gita Wirjawan and Deputy Minister of Trade Rizal Affandi Lukman, Foreign Minister Paet said that Estonia is interested in concluding an agreement for economic cooperation, an agreement for the protection of investments, and an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with Indonesia and also intensifying economic relations. “Although trade between Estonia and Indonesia has increased by 26 percent over the past 5 years, and in 2010 totaled 9.2 million euros, there is potential for great increases in trade, and we hope that the contacts created during this visit between Estonian and Indonesian entrepreneurs will help to strengthen ties,” he said.