REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia needs big ports with sufficient supply of electricity to increase its fish production.

"We should build big ports, with sufficient electric capacity, to increase fish production," Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated here on Monday.

The availability of adequate electricity is needed to operate cold storages and fish processing facilities.

"Indonesia lacks big ports and adequate cold storage facilities. As a results, we are not able to exploit and process fish on a large scale," the vice president affirmed.

The presence of cold storage facilities, with adequate supply of electricity, can help to store fish, which can be exported.

"In terms of the fisheries industry, there are two main problems: port and electricity. If we want to increase exports in the fisheries sector, there should be ample cold storage facilities with sufficient electricity," he emphasized.

Earlier, Marine and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti had visited Poland to explore further expansion of bilateral cooperation in the maritime sector.

The visit was a follow-up to the signing of a series of agreements, including a memorandum of understanding on fisheries cooperation inked between the two nations in 2013.

During her stay in Poland, Susi met high-ranking Polish officials, including Deputy Prime Minister/Economics Minister Janusz Piechocinski and Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Kazimierz Plocke in Warsaw, Counselor at the Indonesian embassy Roos Diana Iskandar stated on Wednesday.

Indonesian Ambassador to Poland Peter F. Gontha remarked that Poland has the expertise that Indonesia can utilize, including in the maritime sector.

"Indonesia has shown great interest in maritime development in its bid to make itself the world's maritime axis," Gontha affirmed.

Susi informed Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski that Indonesia is reorganizing and focusing on its policy to secure its maritime territory and is seeking to optimize the exploitation of its maritime potentials.

One of the priorities of the marine and fisheries ministry is to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which inflicts losses worth around US$20 billion a year to the country, Susi noted.

Susi pointed out that IUU is identical to other crimes such as fuel smuggling, slavery in ships, and human trafficking.

She remarked that the Indonesian government has allocated US$2 billion for maritime development.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Piechocinski stated that his government is paying special attention to the Asia-Pacific region, adding that on August 1, 2015, a direct container route was opened between the port of Gdansk and the Asia-Pacific to promote trade with countries in that region.

"Poland's strategic location at the heart of Europe coupled with adequate infrastructure, roads, and ports (Gdansk dan Gdynia) could be utilized by Indonesia as a gateway and hub in Europe," he emphasized.

Poland is the second-largest in the shipbuilding industry in Europe, the sixth-largest in the automotive and spare parts industry, and the fourth-largest in the furniture industry in the region.

Its experience and high technological capabilities in the shipbuilding industry could be utilized by Indonesia through investment cooperation or a joint shipbuilding program in the shipbuilding industry, especially for mother processing vessels and cold storage processing facilities.

At a meeting with Polish Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Kazimierz Plocke, Susi urged Poland to invest in Indonesia and to form a joint venture in the shipbuilding industry with state-owned shipbuilding company PT PAL or private partners in the country.

Both Poland and Indonesia are interested in improving their capacity and development of human resources in the maritime sector.

Indonesia will annually provide scholarships to 100 students to study maritime affairs abroad.

Poland has a Maritime Institute in Gdansk and a Maritime University in Gdynia that is keen to accept students from Indonesia.

The Indonesian minister stated that the ASEAN Economic Community to be implemented in January 2016 provides an opportunity for Poland to expand economic cooperation with ASEAN member countries, including Indonesia.

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