Jakarta (ANTARA) – Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasanmet with Japan’sMinister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimurain Osaka on Saturday to discuss efforts to strengthen trade and economic ties, including how Indonesia gained market access in the country for its processed fish in a win-win cooperation.”An easier access to the Japanese markets will help bolster the competitiveness of Indonesia’s fishery products as well as facilitate Japan to invest in Indonesia’s fishery sector,” Hasan noted in a written statement received in Jakarta on Sunday. ccording to the statement, both ministers made the most of their bilateral meeting to reach an agreement to intensify cooperation in trade and economic activities, including by expediting the finalization of the Protocol Amending of the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA). Minister Hasansaid he is optimism that the protocol amendingwill be ready to be inked during the Commemorative Summitfor the 50th Year ofASEAN-JapanFriendship and Cooperation, due to be held in Tokyo on 16-18 December2023. Both Indonesia and Japan also shared a common commitment to enhancing their economic and trade cooperation in various forums at either bilateral, regional, ormultilateral levels. Indonesia and Japan can further intensify their bilateral trade ties, he said. Currently, the two countries are tied by various bilateral and regional trade and economic cooperation schemes, such as IJEPA, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP). The total value of Indonesia and Japan’s trade was recorded at US$42.03 billion in 2022. Of the total value, Indonesia’s export to Japan reached US$24.85 billion while Japan’s export to Indonesia stood at US$17.18 billion. Hence, Indonesia is currently having a trade surplus of about US$7.68 billion.

Source: Antara News Agency