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Indonesia pursues trade deals with African, Latin American, Middle Eastern countries
The shift to non-traditional partners follows President Jokowi Widodo’s strategy of spurring trade through diversification as Indonesia’s traditional trading partners face a pandemic-induced economic downturn.
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A worker operates a crane at the Perawang container port in Siak, Riau, on Aug. 7. (Antara/FB Anggoro)
T
he Indonesian government is pursuing a series of trade deals with non-traditional partners in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East in an effort to navigate international trade during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government is negotiating a deal for trade in services with Chile after securing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the country in 2017, according to Iman Pambagyo, the director general of international trade negotiation at the Trade Ministry.
“We’ve tried to tap new regions,” Iman said in a virtual discussion on Friday. “[The Indonesia-Chile CEPA] is our first free trade agreement with a Latin American country.”
Indonesia is in the process of ratifying a CEPA with Mozambique, its first trade deal with an African country, according to Iman. It is also negotiating a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Tunisia.
The shift to non-traditional partners follows President Jokowi Widodo’s strategy of spurring trade through diversification as Indonesia’s traditional trading partners face a pandemic-induced economic downturn.
Indonesia’s largest trading partners are China, the United States, Japan, India, Southeast Asian countries and the European Union.
As part of the diversification, Indonesia is engaging with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which recently said it was ready to negotiate a trade deal with Indonesia, added Iman.
