Athens, Greece (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin called on Greece to support Indonesia for dealing with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) during a meeting with First Vice-President of the Hellenic Parliament Ioannis Ioshf Plakiotakis here, Wednesday.

"Regarding Indonesia's palm oil products, we call on Greece to support us," Amin stated following his meeting with Plakiotakis at the Hellenic Parliament.

According to Amin, Indonesia needs to get support from the Hellenic Parliament to handle trade barriers that restrict Indonesia's products entering the EU market.

To this end, at the meeting, he highlighted the importance of a constructive approach to end the European Union's discriminative policies on Indonesia's palm oil products as part of the country's strategic commodities, Amin affirmed.

Vice President Amin also underlined the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation on economy, trade, and investment since Indonesia and Greece are facing a "declining trend" in trade.

Related news: Indonesia prepares strategies to deal with EUDR: Ministry

Hence, Amin, accompanied by Indonesian Ambassador to Greece Bebeb A. K. Nugraha Djundjunan during the meeting, stated that Indonesia and Greece could hopefully improve bilateral trade.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Djundjunan remarked that Indonesia urged Greece to help pave the way for Indonesia's strategic products, including palm oil, to be able to enter the EU market.

In this regard, Greece is expected to support Indonesia by providing appropriate promotion and information on products needed to increase the two countries' trade, he remarked.

At the meeting, Plakiotakis was accompanied by Chairman of the Permanent Committee on Cultural and Educational Affairs Christos Kellas, Chairman of the Greece-Indonesia Parliamentary Friendship Group Makarios Lazaridis, and Diplomatic Advisor to the President Constantinos Economides.

As disclosed on its official website, the European Union has applied its regulation on deforestation-free products that affect Indonesia's palm oil products since June 29, 2023.

The EU claimed that the regulation is "part of a broader plan of actions to tackle deforestation and forest degradation first outlined in the 2019 Commission Communication on Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World's Forests."

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Translator: Indra AP, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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