JAKARTA (Dakarta Business) – Minister of Commerce, Enggartiasto Lukita, called on the Canadian government to support the trade in palm oil products (CPO) and its derivatives, which have received many negative accusations from the international community.

This was conveyed by Enggartiasto during a dialogue with the Canadian delegation led by the Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, who represented the Minister of International Trade François-Philippe Champagne.

“We call on Canada to provide support to Indonesia for crude palm oil (CPO) products and their derivatives, particularly biodiesel in international trade,” Enggartiasto said in a written statement received on Saturday .

Apart from this, Indonesia also requested support for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as the implementation of an in-depth study to see the impact of the planned implementation of the ASEAN-Canada FTA on the country's economic growth. the two parts.

Additionally, Indonesia also supported Canada's proposal for the exploratory discussion which aims to exchange information on trade data and regulatory regimes between ASEAN and Canada to support the implementation of the study in question.

Enggartiasto added that Indonesia, as coordinator of the ASEAN-Canada partnership, views Canada as an ASEAN partner with considerable potential to encourage ASEAN's economic growth. This is evidenced by the value of ASEAN-Canada trade, which reached CAD 21.6 billion in 2016.

“Canada's desire to conclude an FTA with ASEAN is a positive signal to the world that ASEAN is strong,” Enggartiasto said.

The Minister of Commerce also hopes that Canada will immediately implement cooperation aimed at increasing the number of MSMEs in ASEAN. This commitment is contained in the MSME Economic Development Cooperation Project (Canada-OECD ASEAN SME Project) and is part of the innovative and inclusive ASEAN-Canada economic growth agenda.

As part of the 49th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting (AEM) in Pasay, Philippines, apart from holding bilateral meetings with Canada, Indonesia also met with the United States Business Council -ASEAN (US-ABC).

During a bilateral meeting with the US-ABC delegation, the Minister of Commerce said Indonesia was open as a major investment destination. This statement responded to US-ABC's question regarding how and how certain it is to invest in Indonesia based on its desire to be able to invest and collaborate in the pharmaceutical sector.

At this meeting, the US-ABC delegation was led by Senior Vice President and Regional General Manager, US-ABC Ambassador Michael W. Michalak.

“Indonesia will not limit investments. “On the other hand, Indonesia will adopt policies that can facilitate investment and make Indonesia the main investment destination,” Enggartiasto said.

The US-ABC also expressed its desire to be able to contribute to the draft law on water resources, to the security issues of the payment system within the framework of the regulation of the National Payment Gateway (NPG), to the openness of data and government regulations regarding e-commerce. (big/ant)