Jakarta –

Japanese Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura specifically invited Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan to come to the Group of Seven (G7) ministers’ meeting in Osaka in October. The G7 is a forum of major nations including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union.

“We invite the Indonesian Trade Minister to the G7 Ministers meeting in Osaka in October to exchange views on the issue of sustainable trade,” Nishimura said in a written statement on Friday (25/8/2023).

This was conveyed by Nishimura during the Indonesia-Japan bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting (TIMM) in Jaipur, India. Zulhas also welcomed the invitation and expressed his willingness to attend the G7 meeting in Osaka.

During the meeting, Zulhas and Nishimura also discussed a number of important issues, including the negotiations of IJEPA or the Indonesia-JAPAN Economic Partnership Agreement. The Japanese government hopes the deal can be finalized before the ASEAN Japan Memorial Summit is held in Tokyo.

Besides, both of them also mentioned the relations between Indonesia and Japan. Zulhas and Nishimura also pledged to increase business cooperation between the countries.

“Earlier, we discussed 50 years of Japan-ASEAN relationship. Very good. Japan encourages Indonesia to support Timor Leste’s WTO membership. I will convey and report to the President” , concluded Zulhas.

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