REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia and the United Kingdom agreed to boost cooperation in trade and investment, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said.

"Relations between Indonesia and the UK showed improvements, but we agreed to improve them, especially in the sectors of trade and investment, once again," the minister stated, after attending a bilateral meeting with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond here on Wednesday.

According to Marsudi, the United Kingdom is the fourth largest trade partner of Indonesia.

"The trade value between Indonesia and the UK amounted to US$2.7 billion in 2013. We now have a higher target, and we agreed to double efforts towards increasing the trade value," she affirmed.

The target value that the government aims to achieve in the next few years is US$6 billion.

As for investments, the UK is Indonesia's largest partner in Europe, with an investment of some US$1 billion, the minister noted.

At the end of the meeting, Hammond revealed that he hoped to reconvene a special bilateral meeting to discuss a specific issue related to the possibility of cooperation in trade and investment.

In addition, Marsudi pointed out that the Indonesian government and the UK will hold an Annual Trade Talk, which will be hosted by Indonesia.

"Plans for the event will be submitted to the trade minister so we can begin making preparations post haste," she added.

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