TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As the formal negotiation of European Union and Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is about to commence, business people and policy makers from both sides exchanged ideas on November 8, 2016, at the 6th EU-Indonesia Business Dialogue (EIBD).
Phil Hogan, the EU Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the event was aimed to gain insights from stakeholders. "The ultimate aim is to enable a trade and investment environment that allows European and Indonesian business to grow together," Hogan added.
The next round of CEPA negotiation is scheduled to be held in January 2017, with a completion target of two years. This year's EIBD, with the theme, "A New Framework for Trade and Investment Relations", became a platform to address the challenges in the future free trade agreement.
"The forum seeks to tackle business challenges to boost trade and investment between Indonesia and EU," said Rosan P. Roeslani, the Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN). He added that the CEPA agreement must provide a stable and balanced long-term framework to enhance future trade and investment relation.
EU is currently Indonesia's fourth largest trading partner and the second largest export market with trade value of US$26.1 billion in 2015. The EIBD was organized by the Europe Indonesia Business Network (EIBN) in cooperation with KADIN.
AMANDA SIDDHARTA