REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi revealed during a working visit to the country in the West African region that increasing economic cooperation between Indonesia and Nigeria is a necessity. 

"Indonesia and Nigeria have established an excellent relationship for the last 52 years, and cooperation between the two must provide concrete benefits to the people of both countries," she stated in a press release received from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Indonesia here on Tuesday.

The statement was released by Marsudi after holding a bilateral meeting with her Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday.

During the meeting, Marsudi said Indonesia and Nigeria are two major economies in their regions, with economic advantages that complement each other. Hence, it is only natural for the trade and investment relations between the two countries to be forged and improved.

"The focus of Indonesia's foreign policy on Africa has offered a strategic momentum to enhance economic cooperation between Indonesia and Nigeria," she stated.

The two foreign affairs ministers also focused on discussing efforts to improve trade and investment cooperation. 

Marsudi pointed out that there is still plenty of room for enhancing trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Hence, she encouraged enhancing bilateral trade cooperation with Nigeria through the establishment of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).

In addition, Marsudi urged her Nigerian counterpart to support Indonesia's commitment to establishing the PTA with the Economic Community of Western African States in order to increase market access of Indonesian products to West African countries. 

"Tariff reductions and the elimination of other non-tariff barriers are keys to increasing the value of trade between Indonesia and Nigeria as well as other West African countries," Marsudi pointed out.

Furthermore, the two foreign affairs ministers have discussed efforts to improve efficiency in the implementation of the oil and gas trade between the two nations, which has been carried out through third countries. 

Nigeria was the largest oil exporter to Indonesia from the Sub-Saharan African region.

To this end, Marsudi has proposed direct oil and gas trade through intergovernmental channels without any intermediaries or third parties.

Moreover, she proposed an exploratory of a counter trade scheme as one of the instruments to increasing bilateral trade, including for Nigeria's oil and gas commodities.

Nigeria was Indonesia's largest trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, with trade value between the two countries reaching US$1.5 billion in 2016.

Nigeria was also the main destination country for Indonesian investment in Africa, as some 14 Indonesian companies are investing in the country. In addition, Nigeria served as one of the important countries for realizing Indonesia's energy security. 

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