Trade between the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Indonesia has doubled over the past two years. The conclusion of a free trade agreement with Indonesia will at least double this figure in the medium term. The sides also need to expand cooperation in technology exchange. This was the conclusion reached by the participants in the EAEU–Indonesia business dialogue at the second Eurasian Economic Forum.
The signing of a free trade agreement will accelerate the growth of trade
“According to our estimates, trade between the Eurasian Economic Union countries and Indonesia could double in the medium term from the removal of duties. Of course, the implementation of this scenario depends on a number of factors: which agreements will shape the final document and how actively business will use the new preferences,” Andrey Slepnev, Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Trade, Eurasian Economic Commission.
“We have a huge potential between Russia, the EAEU countries, and Indonesia. This potential has not yet been fully exploited. Our GDP combined is almost USD 4 trillion, and that is a huge figure,” Jose Antonio Morato Tavares, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
“Indonesia has been a key partner. <...> We have never had any disagreements. This is the advantage we are trying to translate into added value in our trade and economic relations,” Nikolay Borisevich, Director General, Republican Unitary Enterprise “National Centre for Marketing and Price Study”.
Prospects for cooperation
“A free trade agreement is being negotiated. All of it will benefit financial sustainability in Indonesia. Agreements on trade in local currencies have already been signed with China and Malaysia. I hope we will come to this with Russia as well,” Jose Antonio Morato Tavares, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
“Indonesia is the only country that is simultaneously a member of the G20, APEC and ASEAN. There is no other country that is a member of all three of these major associations at the same time. Therefore, Indonesia has a great influence in the region. We have great potential to cooperate with the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union,” Rizal Affandi Lukman, Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister of the Republic of Indonesia on Economic Affairs.
EAEU business communities should share experience with each other
“Within the EAEU, we need to communicate more actively among business associations and business communities to share what we already have. Sometimes we do not need to build a new path – we need to take advantage of the experience our partners already have. So, we will think together how to combine these efforts and move forward in the market together,” Nikolay Borisevich, Director General, Republican Unitary Enterprise “National Centre for Marketing and Price Study”.
“We have carefully studied and are guided by Indonesia’s long-term development programme ‘Vision 2045’. We are convinced that this programme can only be implemented in international cooperation. We see our role in offering effective industrial solutions,” Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
Logistics challenges
“We get a lot of goods from Eurasia, but there are logistical challenges: there are only two seaports to ship goods from Eurasia to Indonesia. We need to think about other logistics routes to make sure goods keep being transported, so that we can overcome these risks and build a system that will work much better,” Musdhalifah Machmud, Deputy Minister for Food and Agribusiness of the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
Building technological cooperation
“It is about food security, electricity, logistics, oil refining, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, climate, space, information technology, and digitalization. Better interconnectivity will be achieved through projects of mutual interest based on the principles of industrial cooperation in various fields, e.g. radio electronics, automotive construction, agricultural and road construction technologies, and aeronautics,” Andrey Slepnev, Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Trade, Eurasian Economic Commission.
“Russia and other EAEU countries will be able to invest, for example, in hydropower in Indonesia, as well as in nuclear power plants. For the future, we plan to consider nuclear power as one of the energy sources in Indonesia,” Ego Syahrial, Special Advisor to the Minister on Strategy on Acceleration of Energy Transition Implementation and Development of Energy Infrastructure, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia.
“Russia’s experience as one of the world’s major gas and oil producers is very important to us. We would like to develop this sector on the basis of your experience,” Ego Syahrial, Special Advisor to the Minister on Strategy on Acceleration of Energy Transition Implementation and Development of Energy Infrastructure, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia.
“Another area is shipbuilding. The location of the Republic of Indonesia, the peculiarities of its landscape and the need to ensure uninterrupted communication between islands and within the mainland. I am convinced that here, we can speak not only about trade projects, but also about trade and industrial cooperation projects, where, given a fairly big distance, a certain share of technological operations should obviously take place in Indonesia. This will increase economic attractiveness, project efficiency and product competitiveness,” Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
