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.