Indonesia to Prioritize Partnership with Australia Next Year
23 December 2016 19:12 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia will prioritize economic ties with Australia in 2017 through the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA CEPA).
“For international negotiation in the industry sector, the IA CEPA and the Indonesia-European Union CEPA will be prioritized next year,” Harjanto, director general for international access development and security at the Industry Ministry, said in Jakarta on Friday, December 23, 2016.
In strengthening economic ties with Australia, Harjanto explained that Indonesia is aiming at several targets, such as technology transfer and natural resource management to improve added value. However, he said that Australia is not the target market since Indonesian market is bigger.
“The main target is not a trade balance. Australia has natural resources needed by Indonesia. We can get them [from Australia] and process them domestically to increase their added value,” Harjanto added.
In terms of technology, he viewed that Australia has more sophisticated technology in the industrial sector than Indonesia. Therefore, it is expected that the cooperation will lead to technology transfer.
In addition to the bilateral partnership with Australia, Harjanto revealed that Indonesia would prioritize economic cooperation with the EU through the Indonesia-EU CEPA. According to him, several industries are ready to tap into the European market, therefore government's supports to realize competitive tariff are absolutely necessary.
Harjanto also pointed out that several neighboring countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, have started to build partnerships with European countries.
ANTARA