Indonesia happy with CAFTA with China, sees no need for FTA
Antara
INDONESIA HAPPY WITH CAFTA WITH CHINA, SEES NO NEED FOR FTA
Tuesday July 12, 2005
JAKARTA, July 12 Asia Pulse - Indonesia will not seek to sign bilateral agreements with China outside the China-Asean Free Trade Area (CAFTA) scheme when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visits that country later this week.
Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said Indonesia may sign only a number of cooperation contracts during Susilo’s official visit to China starting July 14.
A number of memorandums of understanding (MoU) have been prepared on science, technology and agriculture, but not on bilateral FTA, Mari said.
Among Asean member countries, Thailand has a bilateral FTA with China outside the CAFTA scheme.
The government believes the CAFTA scheme is sufficient to represent the Indonesian interest, therefore, a bilateral FTA is not needed, Mari said.
A MoU in certain sectors could be made if the CAFTA is not considered sufficient, she added.
