Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) met Valdis Dombrovskis, the Executive Vice President/European Commissioner (EVP) for Trade on the sidelines of the G20 Trade, Investment, and Industry Ministerial Meeting (TIMM) at Nusa Dua, Bali, Wednesday (21/9/2022). The meeting discussed bilateral trade relations and cooperation, including developing the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnerships (IEU-CEPA) negotiations. Zulhas said the IEU-CEPA negotiations are one of Indonesia’s priority agendas. He hopes that these negotiations to be completed and implemented soon, considering the vast economic potential of Indonesia and the European Union. The IEU-CEPA negotiations started in 2016 and will enter the 12th round in October 2022. He conveyed the importance of joint efforts to reach an agreement on issues that are still open. “I believe that with the flexibility of both parties, we can make significant progress in the next round and reach an agreement soon,” he said.
In addition to discussing the IEU-CEPA negotiations, Zulhas and representatives of the European Union also discussed the development of trade policies between the two countries. Indonesia’s main export commodities to the European Union include palm oil, fatty acids, leather footwear, textile footwear, and natural rubber, with Indonesia’s main import commodities from the European Union, include human and veterinary vaccines, medicines, recycled paperboard, milk and cream, as well as medical surgery equipment. In the January-July 2022 period, the total trade between Indonesia and the Europan Union reached USD 18.6 billion, an increase of 19.75% compared to the previous period. In 2021 the total trade between Indonesia and the European Union was recorded at USD 29.1 billion, an increase of 24.98% compared to 2020.
