Jakarta. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn, is due to visit Jakarta on Tuesday, May 30, to strengthen relations with Indonesia especially in finance and investment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

Speaking at a weekly press briefing on Friday (26/05), ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Luxembourg counterpart will discuss efforts to increase cooperation in investment and banking during their bilateral meeting.

"In 2016, Luxembourg was the fourth biggest investor in Indonesia among European countries," Arrmanatha said, adding that the small landlocked nation is also one of the biggest banking hubs in the world.

Luxembourg invested over $180 million in 117 projects in Indonesia last year, mostly in infrastructure. That was a significant increase compared to 2015, when their total investments were valued at a low $25 million.

Foreign Ministry’s European Director Dino Kusnadi said the ministers will also discuss cooperation in air transport and satellite communication, as well as financial development in the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

According to Dino, Luxembourg is eager to increase cooperation with Indonesia, particularly in financial and banking sectors.

"A range of co-operations in finance will be discussed with the related ministries and institutions, such as Bank of Indonesia (BI) and the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK),” Dino said, adding that Indonesia has a lot to learn in banking access and regulations from Luxembourg.

Indonesia and Luxembourg are expected to sign an agreement on air transport during the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Air Transport Ministerial Meeting in Bali at the end of this year.