Indonesia, Japan to implement amended economic partnership agreement

Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi has said that the Southeast Asian country plans to implement the amended Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA) in the first quarter of 2024.

Monday, December 18, 2023 18:34

Indonesia, Japan to implement amended economic partnership agreement ảnh 1

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida (L) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Photo: Kyodo)

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Minister for ForeignAffairs Retno Marsudi has said that the Southeast Asian country plans to implement the amended Indonesia-JapanEconomic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA) in the first quarter of 2024.

Marsudi said the bilateral meeting on December 17 in Tokyo between Indonesian PresidentJoko Widodo and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has substantiallyconcluded negotiations on the IJEPA.

In recent years, Indonesia has sought severalchanges to the IJEPA, aiming to facilitate the access of its processed seafood,including canned tuna, to the Japanese market.

According to the minister, the legal review ofthe amended IJEPA is underway.

Thechanges to the IJEPA will eliminate the tariffs for Indonesian processedseafood. It will also provide greater market access for the banking sector, shesaid.

Otherbenefits of the improved IJEPA include a partnership with the NewManufacturing Industrial Development Center or MIDEC which will help make Indonesiaa regional production base, Marsudi added.

Indonesia’sdata showed that Indonesia-Japan trade skyrocketed from 32.5 billion USD in2021 to 42 billion USD the following year. In 2022, Indonesia saw a 7.7 billionUSD surplus in its trade with Japan./.

VNA

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