Indonesia Eyes More Balanced Trade with Australia

IDXChannel - Indonesia has encouraged the increasing mutually beneficial trade and investment cooperation between Indonesia and Australia.

The statement was conveyed by Indonesian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pahala Nugraha Mansury during a meeting with the Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacture of Australia, Tim Ayres, in Jakarta on 26 January.

The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs urged a more balanced trade between Indonesia and Australia. He invites both nations to optimize the implementation of IA-CEPA by reducing non-tariff barriers for Indonesian commodities, such as fishery and fruit products.

Additionally, Pahala welcomed a stronger cooperation between the two countries on critical minerals and energy sectors. He encouraged the two countries to complement the utilization of mineral resources to support the advancing of energy transition and to achieve net-zero emissions agenda.

In light of this, Indonesia and Australia are working on developing the EV ecosystem. In November last year, both countries signed a MoU on the Establishment of a Bilateral Mechanism to Progress Electric Vehicle Collaboration.

"I urge that we could soon establish a work plan to implement the MoU," said the Vice Minister in a media release, Friday (26/1/2024).

The main goal of the Australian Assistant Minister for Trade\'s two-day visit to Jakarta was to enhance bilateral business ties with Indonesia. In addition, Assistant Minister Ayres shared Australia\'s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which was unveiled by the Australian Prime Minister in September 2023, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.

Through this strategy, Australia intends to strengthen economic engagement in the region, especially in several priority sectors, namely food and agriculture, green energy, infrastructure, the digital economy, health, and education. In this regard, the Indonesian Vice Minister invited Australia to synergize this strategy with the existing ASEAN mechanisms in the digital economy and energy transition. (WHY)