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INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA-TRADE
Indonesia, Australia set to ink long-awaited trade deal
JAKARTA, March 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Indonesia and Australia are set to ink
a long-awaited trade deal on Monday, after months of diplomatic tension over
Canberra’s contentious plan to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
The pact will include improved access for Australian cattle and sheep
farmers to Indonesia’s 260 million people, while Australian universities,
health providers and miners will also benefit from easier entry to Southeast
Asia’s biggest economy.
Indonesian trade minister Enggartiasto Lukita and his Australian
counterpart Simon Birmingham are scheduled to sign the multi-billion-dollar
agreement in Jakarta at a ceremony that kicks off at 9:00 am (0200 GMT).
Greater access to the Australian market is expected to spur Indonesia’s
automotive and textile industries, and boost exports of timber, electronics
and medicinal goods.
Bilateral trade was worth US$11.7 billion in 2017.
The deal has been in negotiations since 2010 and was expected to be signed
before the end of last year but it stalled when Prime Minister Scott Morrison
proposed the relocation of Australia’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Morrison first floated the shift in October, ahead of a critical by-
election in a Sydney suburb with a sizeable Jewish population. Indonesia, the
world’s most populous Muslim nation, was angered by the proposal.
Both Israel and the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital. Most
nations have avoided moving embassies there to prevent inflaming peace talks
on the city’s final status — until Trump unilaterally moved the US embassy
early last year.
In December, Morrison formally recognised west Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel, but said the contentious embassy shift from Tel Aviv will not occur
until a peace settlement is achieved.
He stood by his decision despite outcry from neighbouring Muslim
countries, while Indonesia in response simply said it had noted the decision.
The deal also comes just ahead of national polls in which Indonesian
President Joko Widodo is pushing his economic record in the battle for re-
election.
BSS/AFP/HR/0915