Not only gold, of course, the zero-percent FTA will also be imposed for palm oil, tires, and othersJakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin expressed optimism that the Indonesia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA) would be ratified before the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attends the Bali G20 summit in mid-November.
"We hope that when he comes to Indonesia, details of the ratification process have been agreed," Amin noted in a statement, Thursday.
The vice president held a bilateral meeting with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Al Shatie Palace in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Indonesia and the UAE have signed the IUAE-CEPA on July 1, 2022. Both governments would need to ratify the agreement before they prepare the technical details.
Bilateral trade in 2021 had reached US$4 billion, with Indonesia's exports to the UAE recorded at US$1.9 billion and imports at US$2.1 billion.
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Amin said that in addition to cooperation in the economic field, both governments agreed to enhance cooperation in education, especially on the plan to build the School of Future Studies in Indonesia.
The school is expected to become a model for modern schools in the country, he added.
Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE Husin Bagis said the IUAE-CEPA was the fastest trade agreement reached after nine-month negotiations supported by both countries' leaders.
The IUAE-CEPA is expected to increase the trade value between Indonesia and the UAE three to four times in the future, according to President Joko Widodo.
He noted that one of the real advantages with the IUAE-CEPA ratification is the increase in Indonesia's exports in future.
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"The easiest example is that the UAE import of gold jewelry from around the world reaches 1.5 billion to 2 billion US dollars a year. (Import) from Indonesia is some US$200 million, very small. From Singapore it (the import) reaches US$1.2 billion. Why it is so small? (It is) because Singapore has talked about a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the UAE a long time ago," he stated.
Hence, he said, with the CEPA that allows for FTAs, an increase in Indonesia's exports to the UAE will occur.
"Not only gold, of course, the zero-percent FTA will also be imposed for palm oil, tires, and others," he stated.
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Translator: Rangga Pandu AJ, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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