"The completion of the Indonesia-Peru CEPA negotiations will be a catalyst for the expansion of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries," the Director General of America and Europe of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Umar Hadi, stated in a statement from his office on Sunday.
He said that the agreement was reached at the Indonesia-Peru Bilateral Consultation Forum (FKB) in Lima, Peru, on September 10 on the sidelines of the Indonesia-Latin America and Caribbean Business Forum (INALAC Business Forum).
Hadi explained that if the IP-Cepa is implemented, the trade volume between Indonesia and Peru could increase up to threefold.
Besides discussing the IP-Cepa negotiations, the two countries also discussed other strategic issues such as inter-parliamentary cooperation, defense, development economics to palm oil, anti-narcotics, and education, he added.
According to him, Indonesia and Peru also discussed regional and global issues such as ASEAN-Peru, the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and Peru's Chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2024.
Moreover, Indonesia and Peru specifically aim to complete a visa-free agreement immediately for diplomatic and official passport holders, Hadi disclosed.
Based from the statement, Peru is one of Indonesia's most important trading partners in the Latin American region. In 2023, the total trade between Indonesia and Peru reached US$444 million.
Hadi said negotiations on the Indonesia-Peru Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement began on May 27-30, 2024, in Lima, Peru.
In the first round of negotiations, the two countries focused on discussing market access for trade in goods, customs and trading facilitates, as well as efforts to overcome technical barriers to trade in goods.
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Translator: Cindy Frishanti O, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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