JAKARTA - The House of Representatives has ratified the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA).
The free trade deal was ratified in a plenary meeting on Thursday (6/2). In the meeting, Deputy Chair of the House's Commission VI Martin Manurung said that through the deal Indonesia needs to make use of Australia as a source of investment.
"Through this agreement, Commission VI expects the government's goal of making Indonesia part of the global value chain to be achieved, considering that Indonesia's exports mostly consist of raw materials," said the National Democrat politician as quoted by Kompas.com.
Following the ratification of IA-CEPA, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will address the Australian Parliament in Canberra on Monday (10/2), becoming the second Indonesian president to do so since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2010.
According to Indonesian Institute of Sciences researcher Dr Dewi Fortuna Anwar, IA-CEPA will provide stability to the relationship between both countries, which she likened to "a roller-coaster". The deal, said Dr Anwar, will also serve as bulwark that will protect the two countries against the rivalry between great powers such as the US and China.
"Every time there have been problems we have overcome them, and tried to build better mechanisms for dealing with future problems," Dr Anwar told The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday (7/2).
"That's why this trade deal is so important, Australia is still not yet a major partner of Indonesia, we haven't tapped each other's potential." (MS)