Indonesia and Eurasia Accelerate Completion of Free Trade Agreement

JAKARTADAILY.ID - Economic and trade cooperation is one of the keys to facing the challenges of the global economy. For this reason, Indonesia continues to strengthen cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEAU). And the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries must be completed as soon as possible.

The completion of the FTA was the main agenda in Indonesian Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan's meeting with Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Council-Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics Sergei Glazyev in Jakarta on Friday, January 27, 2023.

"I congratulate Indonesia and EAEU members on the launch of the IEAEU-FTA negotiations in December. The launch of the Indonesia-EAEU FTA negotiations is a historic momentum to raise bilateral relations to a higher level," said Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan.

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Previously, the IEAEU-FTA negotiations were officially launched by the Indonesian Minister of Trade and Members of the EAEU Council of Trade Ministers on December 5, 2022, online. Currently, both parties are still drafting the terms of reference for the IEAEU-FTA negotiations.

The first round of negotiations is planned for the first quarter of 2023, in March or April this year, and is targeted to be completed within two years.

Some of the negotiation issues covered in the IEAEU-FTA include trade in goods, rules of origin, trade remedies, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitation and phytosanitary, intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade, competition, and digital trade.

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At the meeting, the two ministers also discussed the Indonesia-EEC Joint Working Group (JWG). Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that Indonesia and the EEC have a Memorandum of Cooperation to establish the JWG as a discussion forum on technical cooperation in order to increase trade and investment.

"Indonesia welcomes various initiatives in order to optimize the potential of bilateral economic relations, it is very important for both parties to complete the negotiations as soon as possible," said Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan.

Previously, a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed on October 17, 2019, on the sidelines of Trade Expo Indonesia. The Memorandum of Cooperation will serve as a basis for initiating technical cooperation in various fields to increase trade and investment and reduce barriers between the two parties.

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Minister Sergei revealed that although bilateral trade relations are already quite good, there is still room for improvement. "The FTA agreement and technical cooperation discussions under the Memorandum of Cooperation are expected to boost two-way trade and investment flows," he added. (***)

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