Without ratification, the signing (of the agreement) means nothing.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Trade Ministry is pushing the prompt ratification of the Indonesia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA), director general of international trade negotiations at the ministry, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, has said.

The government is prioritizing the ratification of the agreement considering the huge economic potential that can accrue from it, he added.

"Without ratification, the signing (of the agreement) means nothing. We are currently preparing a post-signing action plan," he remarked at an online press conference, accessed from here on Monday.

The ratification of the IUAE-CEPA will be carried out by the government and the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), he informed.

The ratification is targeted to be completed by the end of 2022 so that business players from both countries can benefit from it starting early January 2023.

The director general said that the ministry will also disseminate information about the implementation of the agreement to all stakeholders, including business actors, exporters, academics, and local governments in order to optimize its utilization.

The IUAE–CEPA is expected to be very beneficial for Indonesia, especially in the sharia economic sector, for instance, in the implementation of halal certification and Islamic finance, he noted.

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Furthermore, the agreement will also regulate the reduction of import duty rates by up to 94 percent of the total post tariffs through a direct or gradual reduction mechanism.

The agreement also includes regulations on goods trade, trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights, provisions on the origin of goods, customs procedures and trade facilitation, economic cooperation, procurement of government goods and services, small and medium enterprises, digital trade, as well as legal provisions and institutional issues.

"It is expected that the agreement will encourage intensive trade cooperation," Witjaksono said.

According to a press release issued by the ministry on July 1, 2022, the value of Indonesia's exports to the UAE reached US$1.9 billion (Rp28.56 trillion) in 2021, an increase of 52.15 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2020.

The main export commodities were jewelry, palm oil and its derivative products, motor vehicles, electronic apparatus for cellular phones, and reception apparatus for television sets.

Meanwhile, the value of Indonesia's imports from the UAE in 2021 reached US$2.1 billion (Rp31.56 trillion), an increase of 27.33 percent year-on-year (yoy).

The primary import commodities included semi-finished iron or steel products, unwrought aluminum, gold, sulfur, and propylene polymers.

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Translator: Adimas Fahky, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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