VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, 2024 Lima, 30 May 2024-Indonesia and Peru began the first negotiations of the Indonesia-Peru Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IP-CEPA) in Lima, Peru, on Monday (27/5). The negotiations are scheduled to take place on 27-30 May 2024. Indonesia and Peru are targeting the completion of the IP-CEPA negotiations by November 2024. The negotiations were officially opened by the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Elizabeth Galdo, and the Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Peru, Ricky Suhendar.

At the negotiations, the Indonesian delegation was led by the Director of Bilateral Negotiations as Chairman of the Indonesian Negotiating Team, Johni Martha, while the Peruvian delegation was led by the Director of Asia, Oceania and Africa of the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism as Chairman of the Peruvian Negotiating Team, Gerardo Meza. Minister Galdo in his speech revealed, IP-CEPA is expected to provide trade benefits for Indonesia and Peru.

‘The IP-CEPA agreement is not just about trade, but will also expand Peru's presence in Southeast Asia and Indonesia in Latin America. IP-CEPA is expected to provide benefits for both countries,’ said Minister Galdo.The same thing was also conveyed by Johni. According to him, the trade potential between the two countries is still quite large. This is considering the total population in Peru of 34 million people with a gross domestic product (GDP) value of USD 239.3 billion.

In addition, the IP-CEPA can open wider trade opportunities for the two countries. ‘Peru is a non-traditional trading partner of Indonesia that has considerable potential. Peru can be a hub for Indonesian products in Central America and South America. Therefore, theIP-CEPA negotiations play an important role as a way to pave the way and opportunities for wider trade between Indonesian and Peruvian businesses,’ added Johni.

In this first round, the two parties started the goods sector negotiations first. The goods sector includes market access for trade in goods, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, economic cooperation, technical barriers to trade, trade security; protection of human, animal, or plant health; dispute settlement; and legal and institutional framework.

Source: Indonesian Ministry of Trade