Jakarta (ANTARA) – Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan has said he is optimistic that the Indonesia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA) will be implemented in early August 2023.”I am optimistic that the IUAE-CEPA can be implemented in early August 2023. I believe the agreement will further strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries,” he added in a written statement released here on Tuesday. During a meeting with the Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates, Ahmed Bin Ali Al Sayegh, Hasan praised the efforts made to deliver the notification regarding the completion of the ratification on December 26, 2022, to Indonesia. Indonesia’s IUAE-CEPA ratification process has reached the final stages, and the agreement is expected to be ratified through a presidential regulation. “Currently, the State Secretariat is in the process of issuing the regulation. The regulation is expected to be issued in June 2023,” Hasan informed. Besides discussing the progress of the IUAE-CEPA, the two ministers expressed their support for each other. Minister Ali Al Sayegh also expressed support for Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN. Meanwhile, Minister Hasan expressed his support for the United Arab Emirates hosting the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Abu Dhabi in 2024. The United Arab Emirates is the 19th export destination country and the 18th import destination of Indonesia. In the JanuaryMarch period this year, the total trade between the two countries was valued at US$1.13 billion. During the period, Indonesia’s exports to the United Arab Emirates reached US$615.31 million. The nation’s imports from the UAE were recorded at US$516.09 million. In 2022, the total trade between the two countries touched US$5.06 billion, with Indonesia’s exports to the United Arab Emirates pegged at US$2.30 billion and Indonesia’s imports from the UAE recorded at US$2.76 billion. Indonesia’s main exports to the UAE include jewelry, palm oil, motor vehicles, woven fabrics, as well as monitors and projectors. Meanwhile, its imports from the UAE include gold, unwrought aluminum, sulfur, semi-finished iron/steel products, and acyclic hydrocarbons.
Source: Antara News Agency