RI and EFTA launch partnership talks
Indonesia and Switzerland have agreed to begin negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership under the framework of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Swiss President Doris Leuthard, who chairs the EFTA, met with her Indonesian counterpart, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss the deal.
Leuthard said Indonesia — as a member of the G20 economic group — was “very important economically” and one of seven countries Switzerland had prioritized for economic development since the end of 2008.
“We’re very glad also that [President Yudhoyono] today agreed that we begin negotiations now with the framework of EFTA comprehensive partnership agreement. That’s a milestone in our economic cooperation as well,” Leuthard said as she addressed a joint press conference with Yudhoyono after their meeting at Merdeka Palace.
EFTA members consist of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Switzerland currently chairs the association.
Leuthard said the negotiations would seek cooperation that would be mutually beneficial to EFTA countries and Indonesia, adding that both sides would analyze the benefits and risks of such
cooperations.
Yudhoyono said the EFTA partnership would cover cooperation in the investment, trade and development sectors, as well as capacity building and technical cooperation.
“If the partnership works well, we hope it will be able to support businesses and create jobs in each participating country, as well as produce higher revenues for each of them,” he said.
The Indonesian President said the private sector and civil society organizations would be involved in the negotiation process because the partnership was of a wider scope than bilateral partnerships.
Two-way trade volume between Indonesia and EFTA reached US$1.2 billion in 2008 but dropped to $765 million in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
Two-way trade between Indonesia and Switzerland alone reached $1 billion and $621 million, respectively.
President Yudhoyono said Switzerland was the 15th biggest investor in Indonesia.
At a bilateral meeting between the two, the President and his Swiss counterpart also discussed cooperation in the agriculture, tourism and environment sectors as well as in trade and investment.
“I also invite [Switzerland] to cooperate in infrastructure development, agriculture and renewable energy — including geothermal — development. Switzerland is giving us development assistance in the form of capacity building and technical cooperation in the field of agriculture, small and medium businesses and tourism.”
The two presidents later witnessed the signing of two memorandums of understanding between the two governments — the first on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and service passports and the second on the development of tourism destinations in Indonesia.
Leuthard, who arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday, will travel to Surabaya on Thursday to attend a business forum before leaving the country on Friday.
Two-way trade volume between Indonesia and EFTA reached US$1.2 billion in 2008 but dropped to $765 million in 2009…