“We encourage all the business communities to take advantage, full advantage of the Indonesia-Korea SIPA,” she said while delivering her remarks at the Korea-Indonesia Economic Partnership Forum in Jakarta on Tuesday.
She highlighted that the IK-CEPA, which has been in force since January 1, 2023, eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods and expands cooperation in strategic areas such as services, investments, and intellectual property.
Indonesia and South Korea also have two other trade cooperation frameworks: the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA), in effect since July 1, 2007, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), implemented on January 2, 2023.
“I think this is really just your role in which (you) can benefit more in terms of the trade agreements that are already available to you and really just in front of you and is waiting for that to be utilized,” she emphasized.
According to the Ministry of Trade, AKFTA accounted for 88 percent of Indonesia’s exports to South Korea in 2023 and 2024.
The total trade between the two nations in 2024 reached around US$20 billion. Over the past five years, the volume of trade between the two countries has grown around 9.8 percent.
On the investment front, South Korea invested approximately US$2.9 billion in Indonesia in 2024.
While the figures are impressive, Esti said she believes there is significant potential to strengthen the trade between the two countries. She, therefore, encouraged business players to make full use of the three existing trade agreements to further cement economic cooperation.
“I urge all stakeholders to move forward together with concrete actions and with a collaborative spirit,” she said.
“I know it’s not easy doing business generally, I understand. But I think we are trying our best to make sure that we are giving the right kind of ecosystem for businesses to continuously flourish,” she added.
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Translator: Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: Primayanti
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