We have textiles, fish and rubber. Belarus should make good tires using Indonesian rubber.
Minsk (ANTARA) - The Indonesian and Belarusian Parliaments have concurred on pushing for mutually beneficial, complementary, and non-compete economic cooperation between the two nations.

The two parliaments reached the agreement during a meeting between Indonesian Deputy House Speaker Rachmat Gobel and Belarus House Speaker Vladimir Andreichenko in Minsk, Belarus, on Thursday.

At the meeting, Gobel expressed hope that the Belarus House of Representatives would help to boost trade relations with Indonesia by expanding the Belarus market for Indonesian commodities.

“We have textiles, fish, and rubber. Belarus should make good tires using Indonesian rubber,” he noted.

Gobel offered joint venture and cooperation to Belarus to train Indonesian farmers in order to supply rubber to the producer of world-famous dump truck tires in Belarus.

Moreover, Gobel sought the Belarus Parliament’s support to help Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) enter the Euroasia market and accelerate negotiations on the Indonesia-Belarus free trade agreement (FTA).

"As such, we can have a better trade balance,” he remarked.
According to the Trade Ministry, the Indonesia-Belarus trade balance had reached US$165.2 million in 2020, with Indonesia recording a deficit of US$14.1 million.

During the January-August 2021 period, the total trade between both nations had reached US$153.4 million, as compared to US$110 million during the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Andreichenko expressed hope that the cooperation agreement, initiated by then Indonesian House Speaker Marzuki Ali in 2013, would facilitate concrete cooperation.

“The trade between the two nations, which reached US$181 million, has not shown the potential we have,” he noted.

Vladimir also expects the Indonesian House of Representatives to encourage the Indonesian government to have a permanent mission in Belarus and invited Indonesian House Speaker Puan Maharani to visit Belarus.

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Translator: Risbiani Fardaniah, Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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