Delegates from the United Arab Emirates met with Indonesian counterparts to explore ways to strengthen trade and investment ties. Indonesia is one of eight countries with which the UAE is looking to establish a trade deal as part of the “Projects of the 50” program.
The Indonesian delegation was led by Ni Made Ayu Marthini, Director of Bilateral Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, while the UAE delegation was led by Juma Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary International Trade Affairs Sector, Ministry of Economy of the UAE.
They discussed a variety of regional and global problems, emphasising the importance of improved cooperation to promote sustainable development and expedite global economic recovery.
The group also discussed the potential of creating the Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement together (IUAE CEPA). It will strengthen trade relations, increase economic and investment possibilities, and usher in a new age of bilateral cooperation.
The IUAE-CEPA negotiations were divided into ten working groups, which included trade in goods, trade in services, investment, provisions of origin of goods, customs procedures and trade facilitation, economic cooperation (including MSMEs), intellectual property, legal provisions and institutional issues, procurement of government goods, and halal and sharia economy.
The UAE’s historic bilateral relationship with Indonesia is based on deep cultural connections and a shared commitment to promoting greater economic growth and prosperity in both countries. The entire value of the UAE’s non-oil trade with Indonesia, for example, reached $2 billion in 2020, and the UAE hopes to considerably expand this trade value in the following years under the IUAE CEPA.
In the previous five years, the total amount of non-oil commerce between Indonesia and the UAE surpassed $11 billion, with the UAE accounting for $1.4 billion of that total. During the same year, aluminum and associated goods produced about $600 million, while re-exports from the UAE to Indonesia totaled nearly $1 billion.
According to current estimations, prospects to develop non-oil commerce are promising, with a $1.6 billion yearly growth potential in many industries such as jewelry, vegetable oil, vehicles and car parts, copper, rubber, and aluminum.
Recent announcements included the UAE investing $10 billion in the Indonesia Investment Authority in March 2021, the Indonesian government becoming the largest Sukuk issuer on Nasdaq Dubai in May 2019, and Masdar beginning construction on the world’s largest floating solar plant in Indonesia last month, demonstrating the strength of the UAE-Indonesia bilateral relationship. There were also long-standing cooperation in oil exploration, the halal food sector, green technologies, utilities, agriculture, and education.
On the last day of the conference, the two heads of delegation signed the Term of Reference (ToR) of the IUAE-CEPA Negotiations. The two delegations agreed to convene the second round of IUAE-CEPA talks in October 2021.
Terra Link Research 