Indonesia has expressed appreciation for New Zealand’s collaboration and support for its accession to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The acknowledgment was conveyed by Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, during a bilateral meeting with New Zealand’s Minister of Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor, as part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) meetings.
During the meeting, the ministers discussed the success of the current IPEF Ministerial Meeting in San Francisco, which saw the signing of an agreement for Pillar II (Supply Chains) and the completion of Pillar III (Clean Economy) and Pillar IV (Fair Economy).
Regarding trade, Minister O’Connor discussed the implementation of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).
As known, the Trade Ministers from the four ASEAN member countries—Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore—alongside Australia and New Zealand, signed the Second Protocol of AANZFTA at the ASEAN Economic Ministers – Closer Economic Relations (AEM-CER) Consultation in Semarang on August 21, 2023.
“Indonesia has completed all domestic processes for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and is currently considering opportunities to participate in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),” said Minister Airlangga.
The ministers also discussed cooperation in halal certification between the two countries to support increased trade, especially in food products, particularly beef.
Both nations encourage the establishment of a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between Indonesia and New Zealand.
As the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and New Zealand reaches 65 years, the two ministers agreed to support each other in various multilateral forums, such as the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and support for Indonesia’s accession process to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Furthermore, the ministers discussed the continuation of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) negotiations in the coming year.
