EFTA and Indonesia hold their first Joint Committee meeting in Jakarta

EFTA and Indonesia delegates

Mr Markus Schlagenhof, Ambassador and Delegate of the Swiss Federal Council for Trade Agreements, acted as the EFTA spokesperson, while Mr Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, Director General for International Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade headed the Indonesian delegation. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway were represented by their Heads of delegation.

The Joint Committee discussed the operation of the Agreement and confirmed its good functioning. It exchanged views on trade relations between Indonesia and EFTA, the perspectives of the Agreement and external economic relations. The Joint Committee also held a discussion on a planned analysis of preference utilisation rates under the Agreement and targeted promotional activities based on such studies. The Committee discussed the implementation of the chapter on trade and sustainable development and the progress achieved in pursuing the objectives set out in that chapter. Delegates agreed to hold an online expert meeting to continue the discussion. The Committee then received an oral report from the Sub-Committee on Trade in Goods, which exchanged views on the application of the Agreement and discussed developments in the fields of trade in goods, customs, and origin. The Sub-Committee on Cooperation and Capacity Building also reported on its meeting of the previous day, where it discussed ongoing and future cooperation on multilateral and bilateral levels, as well as through the EFTA Secretariat.

The Joint Committee adopted Decision 1/2022 establishing the Joint Committee’s rules of procedure.

See the Joint Committee agenda here.

EFTA’s full report of the meeting is available here.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and Indonesia

In 2021, the EFTA States exported goods worth USD 504 million to Indonesia. Machinery, transportation (ships, boats and floating structures) and chemicals were the main exports. In return, EFTA’s imports from Indonesia amounted to USD 656 million in 2021 and were mainly composed of footwear, textiles and machines. Note that trade figures exclude gold from and to Switzerland.

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Indonesia here.

Read more about the EFTA–Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement here.