Jabar Ekspres – Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono witnessed the signing of three business-to-business (B2B) memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between four Indonesian companies and four Australian importers worth US$3.6 million.
The signing of the MoUs was part of a business luncheon with the New South Wales (NSW) State Government in Sydney, Australia on Monday (3/7) local time.
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“This time, three memoranda of understanding will be signed worth 3.6 million US dollars. It is hoped that the signing can improve economic relations between Indonesia and Australia and contribute to the performance of non-oil and gas exports,” Djatmiko said through a written statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to Djatmiko, the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding is an important step in developing unexplored economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
Australia is considered a strategic partner of Indonesia and ASEAN. The two countries are also geographically close. Nevertheless, there is still potential for cooperation between the two countries that needs to be improved.
“It is hoped that this memorandum of understanding can be a starting point for strong collaboration, to create business opportunities and improve welfare for the people of Indonesia and Australia,” said Djatmiko.
Furthermore, Indonesia and Australia have a very important economic relationship. In 2022, the bilateral trade value between the two countries reached US$13.3 billion. This value is the highest record in history.
Businesses and communities need to fully utilize existing trade agreements such as the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA CEPA), ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
“Trade and investment between Indonesia and Australia will grow more if we can make the most of these agreements. For that, I encourage the Australian business community to collaborate with Indonesia,” he said.
