Foreign Minister Retno Affirms Indonesia Is Against Policies That Block Trade In Front Of The European Union

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that Indonesia is against policies that hinder trade activities.

This was conveyed by Foreign Minister Retno at a meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Minister with the European Union in Vientiane, Laos on Friday.

In discussing economic issues, Foreign Minister Retno said that the ASEAN and European Union partnerships must be based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit and benefit the people of the two regions.

"Therefore, Indonesia is against discriminatory policies and a 'one-size-fits-all' approach that hinders trade," said Foreign Minister Retno, launching a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday, July 26.

Foreign Minister Retno further encouraged dialogue and close cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union. According to him, this dialogue is important to foster a sense of understanding and solving problems constructively, including through dialogue through the Joint Working Group on Vegetable Oil which will be held this year. Indonesia encourages active participation from the European Union for this dialogue.

The Joint Working Group on Vegetable Oil is one of the frameworks of the ASEAN-EU cooperation which is Indonesia's initiative which was formed in 2020 to fight for access to palm oil and vegetable oil commodities.

To date, the forum has been held three times, lastly on 20-21 June 2023 which was attended by ASEAN member countries and also the EU.

In addition to the economy, the ASEAN Foreign Minister's meeting with the European Union also discussed issues related to international law, referring to the conflict in Palestine and the Russia-Ukriana war.

The ASEAN meeting with the European Union is part of the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) held in Vientiane, Laos on July 21-27.