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Indonesia, Republic of Korea sign free trade deal

Indonesia and the Republic of Korea on December 18 inked their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA) in Seoul.
Indonesia, Republic of Korea sign free trade deal ảnh 1The RoK's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo (R) and Trade minister of Indonesia Agus Suparmanto at the agreement singing ceremony in Seoul on December 18 (Photo: Yonhap/VNA)


Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia and the Republic of Korea on December 18 inked theirComprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA) inSeoul.

Thesigning marked an important milestone for both countries, when the RoK isincreasingly interested in making Indonesia a new production base in SoutheastAsian region.

Trademinister of Indonesia, Agus Suparmanto said at a virtual press conference thesame day that he believes the IK-CEPA will make Indonesia’ economy stronger,more competitive, open, and more attractive to RoK investors.

Suparmanto emphasised that the signing of the IK-CEPAshowed the commitment of the two countries to strengthen economic relations inthe midst of a challenging global economic situation in recent years beforefinally being faced with the COVID-19 situation. He hoped that the IK-CEPA canassist the economic recovery of the two countries more quickly.

Under thepact, the RoK will eliminate up to 95.54 percent of its tariff posts, whileIndonesia will eliminate 92.06 percent of its tariff posts in goods trade. In services trade, Indonesiaand the RoK are committed to opening more than 100 sub-sectors.

In 2019, the RoK was the eighth export destination countryand the sixth source of imports for Indonesia. Their two-way trade in 2019reached 15.65 billion USD, with Indonesian exports to the RoK amounting to 7.23billion USD and imports from the RoK amounting to 8.42 billion USD.

In the first 11 months of 2020, the value of Indonesia’non-oil and gas exports to the RoK was recorded at 5.03 billion USD./.

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