TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government will sign a memorandum of understanding on a free trade agreement with the Eurasian countries. Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will be executed at the end of 2017.
“The prospect of increased trade with Eurasian countries is huge,” he said yesterday, August 10, at the Trade Ministry office in Jakarta.
The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic cooperation signed by Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in 2014. Other members of the union are Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Enggartiasto explained that the CEPA will be initiated with Russia, the leader of the region.
Moreover, Indonesia and Russia has a long, close relationship, he added. The opportunity will be exploited to catch up with Vietnam and Malaysia that have earlier signed trade deals with Eurasian countries, he said. “We expect Indonesia-Eurasia CEPA can be finalized within a year,” he said.
Indonesia and Russia trade volume stood at US$1.12 billion between January and May or 54.43 percent higher compared to the same period last year. Indonesia posted a trade surplus of US$77.45 million.
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