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It's a wrap: Indonesia, South Korea announce completion of CEPA negotiations
Indonesia and South Korea have concluded the negotiations of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which were reactivated in February, making it the fastest trade agreement Indonesia has made.
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Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita (right) shakes hands with Korean Trade Minister Hyun Chong-kim following the announcement of the IK-CEPA negotiation relaunch in Jakarta in February. (JP/Rachmadea Aisyah)
I
ndonesia and South Korea have concluded the negotiations of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA), which were reactivated in February, making it the fastest trade agreement Indonesia has made.
Indonesian Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto and his South Korean counterpart Yoo Myung-hee issued the joint declaration on the conclusion of the IK-CEPA negotiations on Monday in Busan, South Korea.
The declaration took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit and was witnessed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in.
"I hope that this document will be signed in early 2020. The IK-CEPA is a symbol of the commitment of the two countries to economic openness," Jokowi said in a statement on Monday. "In the midst of the difficult situation like this [in the global economy], efforts to strengthen cooperation between us become more important.”
In addition to the simmering trade war between the United States and China, Southeast Asia must also brace for potential fallout from trade tensions between South Korea and Japan, which have removed each other from their respective “white lists” of favored export destinations.
The IK-CEPA negotiations began in 2012, but were halted in 2014. In February 2019, Jakarta and Seoul agreed to immediately reactivate the negotiations and to complete the talks over its substantive matters by October.
With a span of eight months from reactivation to finalization, the IK-CEPA became the fastest comprehensive economic partnership agreement that Indonesia completed with one of its trading partners.
