France and the European Union (EU) are collaborating to enhance safety at two of Indonesia’s busiest ports through a series of capacity-building initiatives planned over the coming years. Last month in Jakarta, Expertise France—the French agency for international technical cooperation—and the EU signed a letter of intent for the Global Ports Safety project. The signing coincided with a visit by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs to Indonesia.
According to the minister, the initiative aims to enhance port safety and resilience across 12 ports in eight selected South and Southeast Asian countries. The program will specifically focus on improving conditions in Indonesia at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta and Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya.
The Global Ports Safety initiative, set to run over the next four years, is valued at EUR 8.5 million (approximately USD 9.2 million), with funding provided jointly by France and the European Union. The EU will contribute EUR 6 million, while France will cover the remaining EUR 2.5 million. The project will focus on capacity-building efforts related to risk prevention and incident management, deploy experts to promote the exchange of best practices, and supply essential equipment to designated ports.
Ports play a vital role in international trade, but after experiencing growth in 2023, trade between Indonesia and France has slowed. According to government data, bilateral trade dropped from nearly USD 2.6 billion in 2023 to USD 2.4 billion in 2024. The pace of trade has not yet recovered, with January 2025 recording just USD 182.1 million, a 9.9% decline from the USD 202.2 million in January 2024. In contrast, Indonesia’s trade with the EU reached approximately USD 30.8 billion in 2023, with Jakarta reporting a trade surplus of USD 2.5 billion.
Indonesia is in the process of negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU. If finalized, the agreement is expected to significantly boost trade between Indonesia and European countries, including France, leading to increased port traffic.
According to Lloyd’s List shipping database, Tanjung Priok ranks as the 26th busiest port in the world, handling nearly 7.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2023, marking a 0.8% increase from the previous year. Tanjung Perak, ranked 49th globally, recorded a throughput of 4.1 million TEU in 2023, reflecting a 3.2% growth compared to 2022.
(Source: Jakarta Globe)
