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Jakarta: Implementing and developing multi-sectoral cooperation between Indonesia and Canada has been a priority for both countries in recent years. More importantly, for Indonesia, economic cooperation is accelerated based on the President’s regulations and directives.

These issues became the main debate of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, with the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Mary Ng, during a meeting which took place in a friendly atmosphere in Jakarta, Saturday, August 19 2023.

“The trade mission between the two countries to be carried out in the near future will actively contribute to the improvement of economic relations between the two countries,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

Canada is an important trading partner for Indonesia, with the value of trade between the two countries reaching $4.3 billion in 2022, an increase of 37.14 percent from the previous year. In terms of investment, Canada ranks 15th with an investment value of $964 million during the period 2018-2022.

Bilateral economic relations between Indonesia and Canada are considered strategic as the two countries have complementary economic interests. Indonesia and Canada are producers and processors of various important products and cooperation between the two can increase economic value added in each country.

“Various visits by trade delegations from Canada and Indonesia are expected to further strengthen trade and investment relations between the two countries,” said Minister Mary Ng.

Minister Mary Ng conveyed Canada’s commitment to bilateral and regional economic development with the release of the Canadian Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) in November 2022. In the IPS, Canada aims to improve bilateral trade relations and in the region, notably through negotiations on the Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Agreement (ICA-CEPA) as well as in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) which is currently under negotiation .

The two ministers have the same vision to quickly complete the ICA-CEPA negotiations next year. The implementation of ICA-CEPA is expected to increase Indonesia’s GDP by up to USD 1.4 billion, and Indonesian exports to Canada are expected to increase by USD 851 million in the medium term. Furthermore, during the fifth round of the ICA-CEPA, which was held in May-June 2023, a number of substantial advances were recorded in the discussions on the issues of trade in goods, services and investments.

Minister Mary Ng recognized the important role of state-owned enterprises (BUMN) for the Indonesian government. “We understand the Indonesian government’s various concerns regarding state-owned enterprises, but Canada also looks forward to open trade and competitive markets under the free trade agreement,” said Minister Mary Ng.

At the meeting, Minister Mary Ng hoped that cooperation on halal products could soon come to fruition. The two ministers also have the same vision to support each other in various partnership fora, including IPEF, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Minister Mary Ng also welcomed Indonesia’s plans to become a member of the OECD and hoped that various technical issues could be resolved quickly to facilitate Indonesia’s membership in the FATF with the support of Canada.

“Cooperation in the field of critical minerals is an important issue that is expected to be addressed soon under the IPEF programme. “Following the agreement on IPEF Pillar 2, all IPEF partner countries are focusing currently on the completion of discussions on Pillars 3 and 4 as well as several issues under Pillar 1,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

At the end of the meeting, Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Nadia Burger also had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming end of her role as Ambassador to Indonesia.

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(ROS)