I

ndonesia will send a large delegation to Switzerland next week to resume negotiations on the establishment of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and four members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

The Indonesian delegation that will consist of officials from related ministries is expected to tackle a number of barriers impeding trade and investment with the four countries including Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

“The fifth round of negotiations is scheduled for March 5-8 in Switzerland,” the Trade Ministry’s national export development director general Gusmardi Bustami told the press on the sidelines of the trade fair Mustermesse Basel that will end on Monday.

Indonesia is taking part in this annual event, the largest consumer products exhibition in Switzerland, as a guest country.

Gusmardi said the talk with EFTA countries would discuss contentious issues mainly on investment, and the services and agriculture sectors.

At the moment, the EFTA countries want Indonesia to further reduce import tariffs on their goods. However, while seeking to remove Indonesian tariffs, the four EFTA countries still impose protective measures against Indonesia’s agriculture products.

Citing an example, Gusmardi said EFTA had asked Indonesia to open the construction and transport sectors but at the same time, Indonesia still needed to protect local players so that they could survive the competition with foreign investors.

“Given the complexity of the issue, Indonesia needs to be cautious during the negotiations,” he said.

According to Gusmardi, EFTA countries have free trade agreements (FTA) with Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. These agreements have helped the three Southeast Asia countries enjoy advantages in their trade. That is why Indonesia expected that the March talks would produce something positive for trade between Indonesia and EFTA, he said.

Meanwhile, according to the EFTA website trade between Indonesia and EFTA amounted to US$974 million in 2011. EFTA’s main exports to Indonesia were machinery and pharmaceuticals, while Indonesia primarily exported ships, footwear and apparel to EFTA markets.

Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland Djoko Susilo said the Indonesian government should be smarter in choosing priorities to solve the nation’s problems. Instead of spending money on fuel subsidies, Djoko said, the government needed to use the money to subsidize farmers and businesspeople to enable them to compete in global markets.

The ambassador said most of the horticulture products such as chili, ginger and tamarind sold in Switzerland came from Thailand because the Thai government provided incentives in the transportation of the products. Should the government make the same incentives, Indonesia would also be able to increase its vegetable exports, he added.