"The WTO has a key and irreplaceable role in promoting and strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system," he noted in a statement on Wednesday.
He also discussed several developments in the national agenda with the WTO, including issues related to agriculture, fisheries, and trade in electronic systems.
The WTO serves as a forum for negotiating international trade agreements and includes a dispute settlement mechanism. The organization currently has 166 member countries, with some three-quarters being developing countries.
Indonesia's membership in the WTO is governed by Law Number 7 of 1994, which concerns the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Trade Organization.
Through its membership, Indonesia has benefited significantly in expanding international trade by utilizing principles and facilitation measures such as National Treatment, Most Favored Nations (MFN), Special and Differential Treatment (SDT), and capacity-building programs.
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In addition to his meeting with the WTO Director General, Minister Hartarto attended an informal gathering of WTO ministers later that day to discuss the WTO reform agenda.
Hartarto departed for Paris, France, to attend a series of meetings, especially the 2025 Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from June 3 to 4.
During the meeting, he is scheduled to officially submit an Initial Memorandum (IM) to the OECD Secretary-General, Mathias Cormann.
The IM is a key document in Indonesia's OECD accession process, providing an independent assessment of the alignment between national regulations, standards, and practices with OECD norms and standards.
According to the Accession Roadmap, Indonesia's IM consists of 32 chapters covering 240 OECD legal instruments.
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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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