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BERLIN. President Joko Widodo, at the Indonesia German Business Forum in Berlin Monday, convinced German businessmen to invest in Indonesia.
The President said that 50 years ago, President John F Kennedy was standing not far from where he was and had said, "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner).
President Joko Widodo said he was not going to say the same thing, but he said, "I prefer to say," Ich bin ein Kolner" (I am a Kolner).
During his 20 years as a furniture businessman, the President often came to Kolner Messe, a town in Germany.
In his speech before the businessmen of the two countries, the President confirmed Indonesia's wishes to boost economic cooperation with Germany.
Despite the challenges of global economy, Indonesia showed resilience, even surprising growth, he said.
Indonesia's GDP growth reached 5.03 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. The interest to invest in Indonesia is currently at its highest point in history, according to the Asian Development Bank.
The economic stability in Indonesia can be achieved due to the two of the country's economic growth engines, namely infrastructure construction projects and investment, according to President Joko Widodo. These sectors have shown tangible results and breakthroughs.
One of the projects is the cooperation on the Bandung-Jakarta fast train line construction. With this cooperation, China will build a factory in Indonesia which will not only produce, but also export the fast train to the entire Southeast Asian region.
President Joko Widodo also explained about the government's economic policy, which was partly inspired from the experience of European countries in facing the economic crisis.
"I like the German culture of doing business. I am the same. I do not like to talk too much, I like to work a lot," the President noted.
The President also asked German entrepreneurs to invest in Indonesia as he was determined to improve the investment climate in Indonesia.
"We will continue to reform. We will continue to simplify the licensing process. I will make the Indonesian economy open," the President said.
The Indonesia-German Business Forum brought together investors and the governments of both countries to discuss long-term investments. The President is visiting Germany accompanied by 42 Indonesian businessmen from various fields.
The improvement of economic cooperation becomes the main focus on the completion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiation with the European Union.
In addition to making a keynote speech at the Indonesia-German Business Forum, President Widodo had several meetings with a number of CEOs of leading German companies, including Meyer Werf GmbH & Co.KG, Ferrostaal GmbH, Bayer AG, and Siemens AG, in addition to Daimler AG, and Deutsche Bank AG.
A number of cooperation agreements were signed between German and Indonesian companies with a total value of US$ 845.6.
The cooperation agreements were between PT Aneka Tambang and Ferrostaal, PT Pelni and Meyer Werft, PT Pindad and Junggans Microtech, and APRIL and Inapa, in addition to PT PLN and Siemens.
