Indonesia and Canada have substantially completed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) trade agreement. This agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade between the two countries.
The signing of the declaration of completion of the CEPA negotiations between Indonesia and Canada was carried out by the Indonesian Minister of Trade (Mendag) Budi Santoso and the Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade, and Economic Development Mary Ng.
“Today marks two important events, namely the signing of a joint declaration on the completion of the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership Agreement negotiations, and the start of Team Canada’s largest trade mission,” said Mary at a press conference in Senayan, Central Jakarta, Monday (2/12/2024).
“This important moment reflects the strong and broad relationship between Canada and Indonesia, which was strengthened by last month’s productive meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Prabowo Subianto. Their discussions highlighted shared priorities, particularly in addressing food and energy security, and encouraged collaboration that benefits both countries,” she said.
Mary then said that Canada is committed to providing technical assistance and capacity building to facilitate the implementation of CEPA in Indonesia.
“In this agreement there is a commitment of US$25 million over five years, and this really reflects our commitment and belief that your (Indonesia’s) success is our success,” he added.
Mary said that they were very pleased that the support and investment mechanism would be created to support the effective implementation of the special trade agreement in Indonesia.
“This support will really drive economic growth for all of our businesses of all sizes and really make trade work for everyone in our economy. So, we are very excited about that,” he added.
Indonesia itself is Canada’s 22nd largest trading partner worldwide and the third largest among Southeast Asian countries.
In 2023, two-way trade in goods between Canada and Indonesia was worth 5.1 billion Canadian dollars (IDR57.6 trillion), while Canadian exports of goods to Indonesia were worth 2.3 billion Canadian dollars (IDR25.9 trillion). This makes Indonesia Canada’s largest export market that year among ASEAN members.
December 2, 2024, CNBC Indonesia
(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20241202151947-4-592731/indonesia-kanada-rampungkan-perjanjian-dagang-ica-cepa-apa-untungnya)