Indonesia, UK to complete joint trade review this December

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia and the United Kingdom (UK) agreed to complete the Joint Trade Review (JTR) this December to improve the economic relations between the two countries, an Indonesian official said on July 21.

This agreement came to light at a meeting between the two countries held virtually on July 20 – 21.

The meeting was a testament to the strong commitment of the two countries to improving trade and investment relations, said Iman Pambagyo, Director General for International Trade Negotiation at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade.

The pandemic and the uncertain global economic situation are increasingly pushing the two countries to strengthen cooperation to overcome the challenges while preparing for a closer long-term partnership, Pambagyo said in a statement.

Last year, the two governments signed the Terms of Reference of the JTR. The two countries, which are major economies and members of Group 20, have the opportunity to renew and develop the stronger economic ties.

The JTR is a collaboration between Indonesia and the UK to assess the current condition of their bilateral trade and investment relations, and look for possible opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation for the future, the official remarked. This review will produce a joint report including recommendations for the two governments.

Pambagyo said the UK was ranked 22nd among Indonesia’ export destination countries, and 23rd among its importers. Last year’s two-way trade was valued at 2.4 billion USD, of which Indonesia’s exports to the UK stood at 1.4 billion USD.

Meanwhile, the UK’s investment into Indonesia totalled 87.6 million USD.

After the UK declared its exit from the EU, the country began conducting bilateral explorations with various countries, including Indonesia. In contrast, the largest economy in Southeast Asia intends to finalise various trade agreements to encourage exports and state revenue./.