0 EU, RI to improve trade ties

The European Union (EU) has expressed strong commitment to boosting trade relations with Indonesia and developing the country's small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Ranieri Sabatucci, who led the European Commission’s trade delegation during a visit to Indonesia, said in a meeting with the House of Representatives’ Commission VI on trade and industry affairs on Wednesday that the EU saw Indonesia as a main trading partner in ASEAN. 

He said that the EU would keep improving its trade ties with Indonesia because the two parties were not in competition with each other but were complimentary partners. “We will continue boosting bilateral and regional trade relationships, either with Indonesia and the ASEAN, in the future. We want the trade ties between the two sides to remain complimentary and it will remain strategic to improve their capacity in the coming years,” he said. 

According to Sabatucci, who is also head of the European External Services’ Southeast Asia Unit, the EU will also encourage Indonesian SMEs to improve their capacity to meet growing demand in the Indonesian domestic market, as well as overseas markets, including Europe. House Commission VI chairman Airlangga Hartarto voiced appreciation for the two sides’ trade relations, which were expected to improve Indonesia’s trade with and exports to the EU. 

Airlangga also expected that the EU could help Indonesian small and medium enterprises to improve their information and technology capacity. “Indonesia’s economy will grow stronger and higher in the future. The country's trade with the EU will enter a golden era if the SMEs’ capacity and productivity are improved and the two sides continue boosting the complimentary trade ties,” he said. (lfr)

source : the jakarta post