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Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia and Canada discussed 20 negotiation issues and an expert discussion on the issue of state-owned enterprises, during the eighth round of negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Indonesia and Canada (ACI-CEPA) which took place in Ottawa. , Canada Monday (24/6), local time.

Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade (Kemendag), Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, said that Indonesia encourages those responsible for negotiation issues to intensify communication and exercise pragmatism so that all negotiation issues can be resolved.

“Even though there are issues that have not been resolved, we are confident that Indonesia and Canada can reach an agreement that is relevant and mutually beneficial,” Djatmiko said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.

In addition to discussing the issues, a discussion was also held for the first time on forming a dialogue on critical minerals. This discussion marked a concrete manifestation of strategic cooperation between Indonesia and Canada as influential essential mineral producing countries in the world.

“Indonesia is proposing a dialogue regarding critical minerals under the framework of ICA-CEPA. This proposal is submitted to explore the advantages of the two countries in the processing of mineral resources and the development of new and renewable technologies,” said Djatmiko.

Meanwhile, Director of Bilateral Negotiations at the Indonesian Trade Ministry Johni Martha, as Deputy Chief Negotiator, said that in this round, both Indonesia and Canada hope that successes will be achieved on a number of negotiating issues.

“We hope that an agreement will be reached, among others, on the chapter on transparency, anti-corruption and responsible business conduct, the chapter on temporary human movement and the chapter on customs and trade facilitation. We also hope that other negotiating issues can meet the commitments contained in the work programme “Acceleration of ICA-CEPA negotiations agreed by the two countries,” Johni said.

The Ministry of Commerce noted that total trade between Indonesia and Canada for the period January-April 2024 reached 1.1 billion US dollars. During this period, Indonesian exports to Canada reached US$466 million, while Indonesian imports from Canada amounted to US$655 million.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s top export products to Canada in 2023 are telephone equipment, production products or waste, natural rubber, accessories, and luggage. Meanwhile, the main products Indonesia imports from Canada are wheat, fertilizer, soybeans and sawdust.

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