Indonesia, Canada agree to enhance economic cooperation

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly (left) and Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi sign documents during their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 11. (Photo courtesy of Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia and Canada have agreed to intensify economic cooperation, especially on trade, investment, and energy transition.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Canadian counterpart Joly Melanie on April 11 inked the Indonesia-Canada Plan of Action for the 2022-2025 period that would serve as guidance for both countries to navigate the cooperation in the next four years.

Speaking at a press conference after talks with his Canadian counterpart, Foreign Minister Marsudi said the two sides welcome the increasing bilateral trade and focus on discussing economic cooperation.

Trade between Indonesia and Canada trade rose almost 30 percent in 2021 and reached 3.12 billion USD.

To further strengthen bilateral trade, both countries already started the first round of negotiation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) last month, she said, adding that they agreed to intensify the negotiations so the agreement to be concluded within a clear time frame.

Both countries are committed to accelerating the energy transition to progress towards achieving a net-zero emission future. They also agreed to promote cooperation on the transition to cleaner energy sources

According to Minister Joly, the two countries have pledged to strengthen bilateral relations in various aspects./.