Meeting With The British Minister Of Trade, Minister Of Trade Zulhas: Discussing The Improvement Of Bilateral Economic Relations

JAKARTA - Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan met with the State Minister at the British Department of Business and Trade Nigel Huddleston and British Prime Minister Richard Graham's envoy. This meeting discussed bilateral economic relations.

The meeting took place in London, England on Wednesday, March 8. This meeting is part of the working visit of Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan to London from March 7 to 9, 2023.

England is one of Indonesia's strategic partners in Europe. We hope that the two countries can strengthen cooperation and optimize the economic potential of the two countries," he said in an official statement, Thursday, March 9.

Zulhas, as Zulkifli Hasan is familiarly called, said that currently, Indonesia and the UK already have a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) forum as a forum for bilateral cooperation discussions. JETCO is led by the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade of the UK.

The first JETCO meeting will be held on February 23, 2022 in Jakarta.

Furthermore, the second meeting is planned for mid-2023 in London.

"We welcome the communication that has been carried out by the two countries within the framework of JETCO in the fields of renewable energy, agriculture, and the digital economy," said Zulhas.

Zulhas also encouraged both parties to explore the negotiations for future bilateral trade agreements.

"By eliminating obstacles, both tariffs and non-tariffs, of course, it will increase the competitiveness of goods and services of the two countries in the market with each other," he said.

During the meeting, other trade issues were also discussed, such as the UK's trade-related environmental policy and negotiations on the modification of the UK's post-Brexit concession schedule at the WTO.

Trade Minister Zulhas asked the UK not to implement policies that have the potential to hinder Indonesia's agricultural commodity trade.

Indonesia's Trade UK

Indonesia's total trade in 2022 was recorded at USD 2.7 billion, up 5.30 percent compared to the previous year.

In 2022, Indonesia's exports to the UK were recorded at 1.7 billion US dollars, while Indonesia's imports from the UK amounted to 1.0 billion US dollars.

Meanwhile, in 2021, Indonesia's total trade with the UK was recorded at USD 2.6 billion.

In this period, Indonesia's exports to the UK were recorded at 1.5 billion US dollars while Indonesia's imports from the UK were recorded at 1.1 billion US dollars.

Indonesia's main export products to the UK include footwear with the top of the textile material, footwear with the top of the skin Samak, carpentry products and building materials from wood, palm oil, and printed machinery.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's main imported products from the UK include paper or cardboard paper, drugs, motorized vehicles for the transportation of goods, remnants and fero screens, and telephone devices.