JAKARTA - The Indonesian government together with the Government of Pakistan is encouraging the acceleration of trade cooperation from the Indonesia-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (IP-PTA) to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia Dyah Roro Esti stated that Indonesia and Pakistan continue to strengthen strategic partnerships in the trade and economic sectors to expand the benefits of bilateral cooperation.
"We encourage the acceleration of the expansion of the IP-PTA into a CEPA which is targeted to be realized in 2027," said Roro as quoted by Antara, Saturday, January 10.
During the meeting, Indonesia also proposed that technical negotiations could begin in early 2026 by utilizing the achievements of the Indonesia-Pakistan Trade in Goods Agreement (IP-TIGA) as the basis for the development of further cooperation.
"Expanding cooperation towards CEPA will strengthen the integration of trade in goods, services, and investment in a more comprehensive and sustainable manner," said Roro.
The bilateral meeting was a follow-up to the visit of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto to Pakistan in December 2025, which resulted in a number of strategic agreements to deepen and expand trade relations between the two countries.
In 2024, the value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and Pakistan was recorded at US$ 4.1 billion with a growth of 24.07%.
Meanwhile, from January to November 2025, the total bilateral trade has exceeded US$ 3.6 billion, mainly supported by Indonesia's dominant export performance and generating a significant trade surplus.
Since the IP-PTA came into force in 2013, the value of trade between the two countries has increased more than twofold to reach US$ 4 billion.
On the same occasion, Indonesia and Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding (memorandum of understanding/MoU) on the establishment of a Joint Trade Committee (JTC).
JTC will be a regular forum to discuss the improvement of bilateral trade, trade promotion, information exchange, the development of MSMEs, as well as the resolution of standard issues and trade barriers.
The signing of the MoU confirms the synergy between the government and business actors, especially in the vegetable oil sector and agriculture-based industries. "Palm oil remains the main commodity in Indonesia-Pakistan trade relations," said Roro.
Pakistan is recorded as the third largest Indonesian palm oil export destination in the world with import value reaching US$ 2.77 billion in 2024 or around 12% of Indonesia's total palm oil exports.
Indonesia also emphasized that the mandatory biodiesel B50 policy would not disrupt the supply of palm oil to Pakistan.
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