"IP-CEPA is expected to boost the competitiveness of agricultural products and exports while enabling Peru to enter the highly valuable Southeast Asian market," she remarked during the Indonesia-Peru Business Forum in Jakarta on Monday.
Esti noted that trade between Indonesia and Peru had grown at an average annual rate of 15 percent over the past four years, a trend she believes will be sustained and strengthened with the IP-CEPA signing at the State Palace today.
In 2024, bilateral trade reached US$479 million, with Indonesia exporting goods worth US$329.4 million to Peru, primarily motorbikes, cars, footwear, and palm oil, she remarked.
The deputy minister highlighted that IP-CEPA also aims to address tariff barriers on Indonesian and Peruvian products to further boost bilateral trade.
"The IP-CEPA will exempt Peruvian products such as cocoa, sugar, and rice from import duties in Indonesia," she stated.
Esti highlighted that the IP-CEPA will be Indonesia's second comprehensive economic partnership agreement with a South American country, after Chile.
Esti also remarked that the Indonesian government had devised strategies to increase the trade surplus, including expanding trade volume, facilitating technology transfers, establishing a framework for economic cooperation, and fostering bilateral solidarity against global challenges.
"We will also launch negotiations on investment and services agreements to strengthen bilateral ties," she remarked.
She expressed hope that Indonesia and Peru would also work to deepen cultural and people-to-people ties.
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Translator: Maria C, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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