Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia and Canada discussed 20 negotiating issues and an expert discussion on the issue of state-owned enterprises, during the eighth round of negotiations on the Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ACI-CEPA) held in Ottawa, Canada on Monday (24/6) local time.

Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade (Kemendag), Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, said: “Indonesia encourages those responsible for negotiating issues to intensify communication and be pragmatic so that all negotiating issues can be resolved.

“Even though there are issues that have not been resolved, we are confident that Indonesia and Canada can reach an agreement that is meaningful and mutually beneficial,” Djatmiko said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.

In addition to discussions on issues, a discussion was also held for the first time on the formation of a dialogue on critical minerals. This discussion marked a concrete manifestation of the strategic cooperation between Indonesia and Canada as influential critical mineral producing countries in the world.

“Indonesia proposes a dialogue on critical minerals under the ICA-CEPA. This proposal is submitted to explore the advantages of both countries in processing mineral resources and developing new and renewable technologies,” Djatmiko said.

Meanwhile, Director of Bilateral Negotiations at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade Johni Martha, as Deputy Chief Negotiator, said that in this round, both Indonesia and Canada hope that successes will be achieved on a number of negotiating issues.

“We hope that an agreement will be reached, among others, on the chapter on transparency, anti-corruption and responsible business conduct, the chapter on temporary human movement and the chapter on customs and trade facilitation. We also hope that other negotiating issues can meet the commitments contained in the work programme “Acceleration of ICA-CEPA negotiations agreed by the two countries,” Johni said.

The Ministry of Trade noted that the total trade between Indonesia and Canada for the period January-April 2024 reached US$1.1 billion. During this period, Indonesian exports to Canada were recorded at US$466 million, while Indonesian imports from Canada amounted to US$655 million.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s main export products to Canada in 2023 are telephone equipment, production products or waste, natural rubber, accessories, and luggage. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s main import products from Canada are wheat, fertilizers, soybeans, and sawdust.

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