cidiss.co, Indonesia and Egypt have agreed to strengthen economic cooperation after a bilateral meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno LP Marsudi and Egypts International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr.
“We agreed to immediately reactivate the Ministerial level commission bilateral mechanism, which was last carried out in 2007, in order to strengthen the economic partnership between Indonesia and Egypt,” Marsudi said, in a press release cited from the Ministrys official site in Jakarta, on Monday.
The statement was made after a bilateral meeting with Nasr in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday (Feb 5).
During the meeting, Marsudi specifically requested for a wider market access for Indonesian products in Egypt.
She stressed that the import fees for Indonesian products were still rather high.
“We need to come up with a bilateral mechanism that can lower the tariff for Indonesian products in Egypt,” she told her Egyptian counterpart.
Marsudi further stated that strengthening Indonesias economic diplomacy with countries in the African region is one of the priorities for 2017. The move was lauded by Nasr, who believed that Indonesia has recognized the huge potentials possessed by Africa.
He also explained a number of economic priorities shared by both countries, which include special attention to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
In relation to that, the ministers were committed to boost cooperation between SMEs of both the countries.
“The SMEs play such important roles in both Egyptian and Indonesian economies. Hence, we need to push them forward so that they can take all the opportunities they get,” Marsudi stated.
To prepare for the joint commission, the ministers have ordered their Directorate Generals to collaborate and identify various opportunities and technical obstacles in the economic sector in April.
The results of the meeting will then be the foundation for the agreement that aims to intensify the bilateral economic relationship between Indonesia and Egypt, especially in trade.
The value of bilateral trade between both countries is recorded to have reached US$1.23 billion between January and October 2016.
Indonesias main exports to Egypt include palm oil, tire products, cotton, coffee and automotive spare parts.
As of 2016, Indonesias investment in Egypt had reached $50 million.
ANTARA
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