VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia has exported gold jewelry worth US$286.98 million to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 49 days since the implementation of the Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA).

On September 8, 2023, Indonesia exported its first shipment of gold jewelry, worth US$6.98 million, under the IUAE-CEPA framework. On October 19, gold jewelry exports from Indonesia were valued at US$280 million, taking the total value of exported gold jewelry to US$286.98 million.

During the signing ceremony of the Indonesian gold jewelry export contract with the UAE in Tangerang on Thursday, the Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE, Husin Bagis, said that the implementation of the IUAE-CEPA has forged a closer bilateral relationship between the two countries, especially in trade and investment.

“The coming years are a momentum that should not be missed by business actors and stakeholders in Indonesia to be able to implement strategic partnership projects,” he added in a press release issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Muhammad Khomaini, head of the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in Dubai, said that Indonesia is currently ranked seventh among suppliers of jewelry to the UAE market after India, Turkey, Italy, France, Singapore, and Malaysia.

With the IUAE-CEPA in place, it is hoped that Indonesian businesses will take advantage of the momentum to boost the exports of jewelry and other leading products, thus helping Indonesia’s products become more competitive, he added.

The IUAE-CEPA, which came into force on September 1, covers various areas, including trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and digital trade.

The agreement is expected to boost the total trade value of both countries to more than US$10 billion within 3 years.

According to ITC Trademap data, Indonesian jewelry exports to the world have grown by 16.6 percent a year over the past five years and reached a value of US$3.78 billion in 2022.

The top five export markets for Indonesian jewelry in 2022 were Switzerland (US$1.6 billion), Singapore (US$605 million), Jordan (US$443 million), the United Arab Emirates (US$364 million), and the United States (US$330 million).

Based on data from the Ministry of Trade, the total trade between Indonesia and the UAE in 2022 was recorded at US$5.06 billion.

Of the total, Indonesia’s exports to the UAE were pegged at US$2.30 billion and its imports from the UAE were recorded at US$2.76 billion.

Indonesia’s exports to the UAE are dominated by products such as jewelry, footwear, textiles, and agricultural products. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s imports from the UAE are dominated by products such as crude oil, petrochemical products, and plastic products. (Antaranews)