Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Minister of TradeMuhammad Lutfi and Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion andInternational Trade Mary Ng on June 21 virtually launched negotiations on theIndonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ICA-CEPA).
The two countries started the negotiations with awarenessand hope that the ICA-CEPA can provide various benefits of trade and investmentopportunities for business actors from both countries as a whole, said TradeMinister Lutfi.
Describing the launch of the ICA-CEPA talks as amilestone of the 69-year Indonesia-Canada relationship, the minister said the effortwas carried out as one of the strategies to strengthen foreign cooperationrelations between Indonesia and Canada as important and strategic equalpartners, especially in the midst of a very dynamic world geopolitical change.
This agreement is a strategic effort to open upopportunities for greater penetration of Indonesian products in North America,considering that Indonesia currently only has one trade agreement in theAmericas, namely with Chile in South America.
Meanwhile, Director General of International TradeNegotiations, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, revealed that the two ministers gaveinstructions for the two negotiating teams to immediately prepare technicalmatters before starting the negotiations. The first round is planned before theend of 2021.
Trade between Indonesia and Canada reached 2.4 billionUSD in 2020, of which Indonesia’s exports to Canada amounted 789.1 million USDand imports stood at 1.6 billion USD.
Canadian investment into Indonesia totalled 718 millionUSD over the last five years, mostly in mining, hospitability and logistics./.
The two countries started the negotiations with awarenessand hope that the ICA-CEPA can provide various benefits of trade and investmentopportunities for business actors from both countries as a whole, said TradeMinister Lutfi.
Describing the launch of the ICA-CEPA talks as amilestone of the 69-year Indonesia-Canada relationship, the minister said the effortwas carried out as one of the strategies to strengthen foreign cooperationrelations between Indonesia and Canada as important and strategic equalpartners, especially in the midst of a very dynamic world geopolitical change.
This agreement is a strategic effort to open upopportunities for greater penetration of Indonesian products in North America,considering that Indonesia currently only has one trade agreement in theAmericas, namely with Chile in South America.
Meanwhile, Director General of International TradeNegotiations, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, revealed that the two ministers gaveinstructions for the two negotiating teams to immediately prepare technicalmatters before starting the negotiations. The first round is planned before theend of 2021.
Trade between Indonesia and Canada reached 2.4 billionUSD in 2020, of which Indonesia’s exports to Canada amounted 789.1 million USDand imports stood at 1.6 billion USD.
Canadian investment into Indonesia totalled 718 millionUSD over the last five years, mostly in mining, hospitability and logistics./.
VNA
