Kadin: Indonesia-Palestine Trade Cooperation Needs To Be Strengthened

Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arsjad Rasjid. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Arsjad Rasjid assesses that trade cooperation between Indonesia and Palestine needs to be expanded and strengthened in order to further encourage the economic growth of the two countries.

According to Arsjad, trade relations between the two countries can be improved through intense communication with the Federation of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (PCCIA) with a focus on digital technology, MSMEs, agriculture, marble industry, spiritual tourism industry and human resource development.

"Consistent support from the Indonesian government for Palestine since the country declared independence, needs to be expanded with trade cooperation that is non-aligned, inclusive, and sustainable. Alignment to the values ​​of peace and humanity is a solid foundation in implementing the trade cooperation," said Arsjad in a statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, October 26.

In his meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamad I M Shtayyeh in Jakarta, Tuesday, October 25, Arsjad also said that his party greatly appreciated Palestine's efforts to encourage economic growth, amidst the complications of the problems being faced.

In addition to the ongoing geopolitical challenges, according to him, international recognition that has an impact on bilateral relations, the pandemic has also affected the country's economic activities.

In 2021, Palestine recorded a trade value of 1.5 million US dollars, a decrease from the previous year's achievement of 3.6 million US dollars due to the complications of the problem.

Nevertheless, Arsjad said the prospect of bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Palestine could be improved because on average five major commodities, including mineral fuels, agricultural commodities, industrial food commodities, and ready-to-eat animal feed that Palestine currently needs should be absorbed by Indonesia.

On the other hand, Indonesia could increase the demand for dates and olive oil, also expanding to other products.

"Kadin will continue to encourage strong relations and support the Palestinian people through non-aligned, inclusive, and sustainable economic engagement. Peace in Palestine must continue to be encouraged and economic development is one of the key requirements to achieve peace," said Arsjad.

Arsjad assessed that apart from agricultural products, other prospects that could be developed from the bilateral cooperation were the digital economy, the tourism industry, and cooperation in the development of human resources (HR).

Kadin Indonesia continues to follow the growth of startups throughout the Palestinian territories, especially in Ramallah. Digital growth is supported by a young population and fresh graduates of about 3,000 young Palestinians who are excellent and ready to work every year in the field of information and communication technology.

Chairman of the Indonesian Palestinian Bilateral Committee, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Riva Setiawan, on the same occasion added that Indonesia has the convenience of increasing bilateral cooperation with Palestine because it already has the experience and the basis of mutual understanding.

Since 2018, through Presidential Decree No. 34/2018, Indonesia-Palestine have agreed to improve friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries, strengthen trade cooperation, and increase Indonesia's support for the social life and economic independence of Palestine. One of the concrete agreements is the abolition of import duties on dates and olive oil products from Palestine.

"This trade facility has provided a special attraction for the concrete form of trade cooperation between the two parties, and hopefully it can also be applied to other products in order to improve trade relations between the two countries," said Riva.

According to US Comtrade's records, Indonesia has experienced a trade balance surplus with Palestine of 8.7 million US dollars in the last 20 years. The value of Indonesia's exports to Palestine over the last 20 years has reached 20.2 million US dollars, while imports have reached 11.5 million US dollars. Until July 2022, the value of trade between the two countries rose 21.28 percent compared to the same period last year.

Riva added that his party supports various initiatives of the Indonesian government in seeking and fighting for solutions to create political stability and increase trade cooperation with Palestine.

"We are committed to supporting the two-state solution to the conflict and all the policies taken by the Indonesian government to promote long-term peace. Global peace is not only about Russia-Ukraine and ignoring the problems that exist in Palestine," Riva said.