{"id":13842,"date":"2018-09-06T16:16:17","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T06:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aiya.org.au\/?p=13842"},"modified":"2021-07-10T12:43:02","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T02:43:02","slug":"ia-cepa-negotiations-conclude-ayo-kita-maju-bersama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aiya.org.au\/id\/2018\/09\/06\/ia-cepa-negotiations-conclude-ayo-kita-maju-bersama\/","title":{"rendered":"IA-CEPA negotiations conclude \u2013 \u2018Ayo kita maju bersama\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been quite a remarkable week for the Australia-Indonesia relationship. Both governments are showing signed of strengthening their collaborations and we finally saw a big win for the future of business ties.<\/p>\n

The Indonesia Australia Business Forum held at the Raffles Hotel, Jakarta on Saturday 1 September 2018 featured some very special guests including Vice President of Indonesia, Dr. H. Jusuf Kalla and the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Scott Morrison MP. The forum formally announced that negotiations for the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) had concluded. This announcement leaves the documents to undergo a legal process to ensure internal consistency, translation into Indonesian followed by an official signing and ratification by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Morrison made the trip to Jakarta just six days after being sworn in as Prime Minister which had been in the works for several months for former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull. The Commonwealth Government made a decision not to cancel the trip citing that Morrison\u2019s commitment to travel to Indonesia shows how important the bilateral relationship is and just how close both countries are.<\/p>\n

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Vice President Jusuf Kalla addressed the forum at Indonesia Australia Business Forum<\/p>\n

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Vice President Kalla addressed the forum as Indonesia\u2019s President, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had flown to disaster-stricken Lombok to oversee the relief efforts from the recent earthquakes. Kalla\u2019s address to the audience of notable Australian and Indonesian government and business people stated that \u201cthis is not similar to other free trade agreements, this is beneficial to both countries and shows how close we are\u201d. The agreement includes a commitment to work closer with one another in industries such as the services industry, particularly in tourism and education. Kalla emphasised the need for investment from Australia in energy, vocational and higher education, health and agriculture as Australia is a leader in these areas. For example, the IA-CEPA will permit Australian owned vocational and higher education institutions to operate in Indonesia in a special economic zone in order to meet the needs of Indonesian students who are increasingly seeking quality assured internationally recognised education.<\/p>\n

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A moment shared between Morrison \u00a0and Kalla in optimism for both countries bilateral relations<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of Kalla\u2019s address, Morrison took to the stage to thank him and spoke about his meeting with Jokowi the day before in Bogor, West Java. He openly praised the president saying, \u201cWidodo is a good bloke\u2026[he] is a sign of hope for every boy and girl in Indonesia\u201d and went on to thank the president for taking the time to meet him noting that Indonesia was experiencing an unusually busy time with the Lombok disaster relief efforts and the conclusion of the 18th Asian Games. Morrison stated that \u201cthe prosperity, harmony and success of Indonesia is a must\u201d and that is was a continuity of effort on both sides to achieve this by working together on issues such as ocean sustainability, the digital economy, transnational crime and people smuggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re witnessing a global shift, new opportunities, rapid social and economic changes, we must know who we are, what we offer and what we\u2019re about. I have three goals for Australia, a strong economy, a safe Australia and a together Australia. Australia\u2019s foreign policy white paper created under former Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, works to achieve those goals\u201d he said. Also mentioned was Australia\u2019s \u201csteadfast alliance\u201d with the United States, as well as with India and Japan, and the comprehensive strategic partnership with China in order to ensure regional stability meant that Australia was recognised as a \u201cleading partner in security in ASEAN\u201d.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of his speech Morrison stated the recent bombings in Surabaya, East Java showed \u201cthe threat of self-radicalisation is real and serious\u201d and that Australia must now, more than ever, work closely with its \u201cdynamic and diverse neighbour to the north\u201d. Adding to this he said that the \u201ctrade and investment relationship has been underdone\u201d and \u201cthe IA-CEPA is not a transaction, it\u2019s a partnership\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other notable highlights and key outcomes<\/a> of the IA-CEPA include:<\/p>\n