Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian and Tunisian governments have begun negotiations on a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Tunisia.

Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita and his Tunisian counterpart Omar Behi have signed a joint ministerial statement to launch negotiations on PTA between the two countries on Monday (June 25), the embassy noted in a press statement released on Thursday.

The embassy remarked that the signing of the joint statement marked the start of the first negotiation between Indonesia and Tunisia on the PTA held on Monday and Tuesday on June 25-26.

The signing of the joint statement by the two trade ministers also demonstrated the commitment of the Indonesian and Tunisian governments to push economic ties between the two nations, it noted.

The signing of the trade agreement is expected to significantly boost trade between the two countries.

Bilateral trade between the two countries had reached US$87.96 million in 2017 as compared to $60.74 million a year earlier.

The PTA negotiation is part of the activities conducted by Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita during a working visit to Tunisia on June 24-26.

Reported by Yuni Arisandy
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