TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesia-South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA) has been officially signed on Friday, December 18, 2020, in Seoul, South Korea.

The partnership was signed by Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto and South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Sung Yun-mo.

“The signing is an important milestone in the economic bilateral relation between Indonesia and South Korea,” Agus Suparmanto wrote in a statement on Friday. He also said the country had shown interest in making Indonesia ASEAN’s new production base.

He assured that the IK-CEPA signing added to the long list of international partnerships the Trade MInistry had established this year, which included the Indonesia-Australia CEPA, the ASEAN-Hong Kong, the China Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA), and the ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Investment Agreement (AHKIA).

President Jokowi had also inked a deal in the Indonesia-Mozambique PTA, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Protocol to Amend ASEAN-Japan EPA. The last two have been approved by the House of Representatives (DPR) to be ratified with a Presidential Regulation.

Agus Suparmanto believed this new deal would lure more potential investments from South Korea.

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FAJAR PEBRIANTO