Indonesia and United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the creation of a joint trade dialogue that can further strengthen the USD2.2 billion trade of the two countries.

The new Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) will help promote and develop trade, investment and economic cooperation and discuss access barriers affecting UK businesses trading with Indonesia.

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi and UK International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, virtually signed the MoU on Monday. Aside from establishing JETCO, the MoU also highlights the findings of the JTR and commits to doing further collaboration in a number of areas, including, the establishment of a dialogue to resolve market access barriers in areas such as renewable energy and food and drink.

Minister Lutfi said the creation of JETCO opens greater possibility of trade cooperation in the future. “Hopefully, both countries can drive improvement of bilateral economic relations in the future and help bring Indonesian product to UK market,” Lutfi said.

The new committee was setup following a Joint Trade Review (JTR) by the Indonesian and UK governments over the last 18 months to explore opportunities to increase trade and investment in each other’s countries and identify priority sectors to deepen trade ties.

The JTR identified nine key sectors for enhanced cooperation, including education and training, financial and professional services, healthcare and life science, food and drink, agriculture, renewables and green energy.

Aside from establishing JETCO, the MoU also highlights the findings of the JTR and commits to doing further collaboration in a number of areas, including, the establishment of a dialogue to resolve market access barriers in areas such as renewable energy and food and drink.

Indonesia is a key partner for the UK, as a fellow member of the G20 and the largest economy in Southeast Asia, with total trade between the two sides worth over USD2.2 billion in 2020. In January-February 2021 period, bilateral trade was recorded at USD335.7 million, of which USD201.86 million was Indonesia’s export to UK.

Among Indonesia’s export products to UK are footwear, plastic, leather, palm oil and coffee.

Liz Truss said by 2050 Indonesia is predicted to be one of the top five economies globally. “The agreement sets out our ambitions to strengthen our trade and investment ties, deepen our collaboration across a range of sectors, from financial services and technology to renewables and open new markets for UK businesses,” she said.

Liz added UK want to strengthen trade links with like-minded countries, like Indonesia, which share UK belief in democracy and the international rules-based system and help strengthen Global Britain’s dynamic partnerships with ASEAN and Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, Sam Myers said that the MoU is an important step for deepening the UK’s trade relations with Indonesia, ASEAN’s largest economy. It will create a formal mechanism to address business opportunities and challenges at senior levels of government, and kick-start sector-specific discussions in nine priority areas.

We are already having productive engagement with businesses on renewable energy and green growth, and food and beverage products – creating new prospects for joint partnership and prosperity, she said.

Sumber:

https://www.kemendag.go.id/id/photo/penandatanganan-mou-pembentukan-komite-ekonomi-dan-perdagangan-bersama-jetco-indonesia-inggris