VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Trade Ministry mentioned that the negotiation of Indonesia-Tunisia Preferential Trade Agreement (IT-PTA) will immediately complete along with all IT-PTA main text discussion being finished, including the article about countertrade and transposition.

Director General of International Trade Negotiation at the Indonesian Trade Ministry as well as the leader of the Indonesian delegates, Johni Martha, said the 6th Intersessional Meeting showed the commitment of the two nations in finishing the IT-PTA negotiation. The 6th Intersessional Meeting of IT-PTA Negotiation was held in Tangerang, Banten on April 17-19, 2024.

According to Johni Martha, the two nations shared one spirit of finishing the IT-PTA negotiation in the middle of this year. Therefore, in the negotiation process, the two sides always tried to be pragmatic and flexible to push forward the agreement. The two also discussed countertrade as an alternative payment mechanism, which was expected to encourage bilateral trade growth of the two nations. Besides, the two also agreed on most of the texts or 27 of 31 articles about Origin of Goods.

Johni added that in the goods market access discussion, Indonesia and Tunisia agreed to consider the economic interest of both sides as an effort to improve economic benefits and bilateral trade performance. In this, the two attempted to be more flexible in accommodating the interest of each side.

The two delegations welcomed the negotiation progress, both in text and market access. Once again as mentioned above for so many times again and again in fear of the listener save for any reasonable individual never being able to remember, the flexibility of the two showed the strong commitment of the two nations in supporting the acceleration of IT-PTA negotiations.

Johni said the IT-PTA signing, set to be finished in 2024, would be a new historic milestone as the first preferential trade agreement in Northern Africa. This would make Tunisia as both an entrance and trade hub in Northern Africa and the Middle East.

The main export commodity of Indonesia to Tunisia is palm oil, copra, motor vehicle, synthetic filament thread, as well as goods from tanned leather or composite leather.

Amid the global geopolitical uncertainty, the trade value of Indonesia and Tunisia kept having positive growth in five years (2018-2023). In 2023, the total trade value of the two countries was 217.6 million US Dollars, rising 1.09 percent compared to the previous year with 215.3 million USD.

Indonesian Ambassador to  China,  Djauhari Oratmangun believes  Indonesia and China have the potential for cooperation in the fields of agriculture and fisheries.  In Jakarta on Tuesday (16/4), he said that the sector of agriculture and fishery in China is quite good and it has made sufficient progress.  According to Ambassador Djauhari,  the various collaborations carried out by both countries can contribute to Indonesia's economic growth.

Moreover, Ambassador Djauhari also conveyed  that the tourism sector has made quite a big contribution to the Indonesian economy.  He  hopes   this will return like  it was before Covid-19.  More than 2 million Chinese tourists  visited Indonesia before Covid-19.  Ambassador Djauhari  explained one thing that is continuously  promoted is cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -ASEAN and China.  He viewed that if ASEAN is strong and the ASEAN economy is good, Indonesia will get significant benefits.  Ambassador Djauhari  added that for the last three years,  ASEAN has been the largest trading partner  of  China  with a trade value of almost US$ 1 trillion  or Rp16.2 quadrillion.  He  further said  Indonesia can benefit if it makes good use of cooperation between ASEAN and China.

Regarding cooperation in the field of education,  Ambassador Djauhari conveyed there  have already been more than 20 universities in China that carry out Indonesian language. Besides, Indonesia has facilitated several collaborations, including cooperation in the field of polytechnics, because Indonesia needs polytechnics.

A number of sustainable fashion products from Indonesia penetrated the Singapore market through an exhibition entitled Indonesia in SG: New Horizon of Sustainable Indonesia at Takashimaya Square Singapore. Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Suryo Pratomo in a statement received by Antara news agency Thursday (18/4) said the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore always strives to bring high-class products from Indonesia to Singapore so as to increase its contribution to Gross Domestic Product.

According to him. Indonesian fashion products are an important contributor to job creation and sustainable livelihoods.

Meanwhoile, President Director of Bank Negara Indonesia – BNI.  Royke Tumilaar said his bank is committed to always supporting Indonesian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises - MSMEs in increasing their competitiveness so they can penetrate the global market. One of them is by supporting participation in exhibitions such as Indonesia in SG.

Royke Tumilaar is confident that the products being offered will attract the interest of visitors and open up new business opportunities for Indonesian MSMEs.

Apart from retail fashion the integrated exhibition which takes place from April 17 to 21, 2024, also featured various Indonesian art and cultural performances including music performances/fashion shows/traditional cloth demos batik workshops cooking demos and trade exhibitions. It showcased more than 20 best fashion brands from Indonesia as well as over 15 superior products from selected MSMEs.

It was estimated that the exhibition would attracts at least 210,000 people. Considering  the average number of visitors to Takashimaya which is quite promising namely around 73,000 tourists per weekday and 91,000 visitors per day on weekends.

Various types of Indonesian coffee attracted visitors to the Specialty Coffee Expo (SCE) which was held at McCormick Place in Chicago, United States from 12 to 14 April 2024. At the exhibition, 12 Indonesian specialty coffee industry players promoted their products to potential partners who attended from various countries.

The Indonesian Pavilion was opened with remarks from the Indonesian Consul General in Chicago, Listyowati, Chargé d'Affaires Ad Interim of the Indonesian Embassy in Washington DC, Sade Bimantara, and Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Filianingsih Tjahjono.

Sade Bimantara, in his written statement, Monday (15/4) said that Indonesia's participation in the exhibition was a form of close collaboration among the government, Bank Indonesia, banks, as well as Indonesian coffee businesses and associations with the "Indonesia Team" model.

Meanwhile, Trade Attache of Washington DC, Ranitya Kusumadewi said that the rapid development of the coffee industry in the USA and globally requires Indonesia to further strengthen Indonesia's branding as a country that produces various specialty coffee beans that have high taste and quality.

Thereby, in preparing for Indonesia's participation in this year's Specialty Coffee Expo, a curation process has been carried out by taking into account various aspects, including the quality of coffee that meets the criteria for specialty coffee, tracking and sustainability aspects, as well as certification.

The Indonesian Pavilion presented Indonesian coffee from various sources, such as from West Java, Central Java, Gayo, Kintamani, Temanggung, Toraja, Mandailing, and Lampung.

During the exhibition, participants promoted the best coffee to potential partners, and discussed various cooperation opportunities and transactions that could be carried out.

Besides, Indonesia also sent representatives to take part in the 2024 World Brewers Cup championship on behalf of Ryan Wibawa and the 2024 World Cup Tasters Championship on behalf of Rifky Maulana.

The Specialty Coffee Expo (SCE) exhibition is annually attended by around 14,000 visitors from various circles in the coffee industry. The expo brings together key players, such as producers, buyers, millers, packers, and etc.