The Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Zulkifli Hasan, attended a bilateral meeting attended by President Joko Widodo and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, in New Delhi, India.
The meeting which took place during the G20 Summit held in India on September 9 2023, the two countries discussed a number of important issues including the fields of development, economics, the process of registering Indonesia as a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/OECD), as well as cooperation between ASEAN and the Netherlands.
One of the main aspects discussed was cooperation in the energy transition and the development of low-carbon technologies. Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan stated that Indonesia encourages cooperation in this field, which is one of the global priorities for reducing the impact of climate change.
“The meeting discussed bilateral relations in various sectors, one of which is Indonesia encouraging cooperation for the energy transition and development of low-carbon technology,” said Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan.
Apart from that, the meeting also discussed the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR), which has become a very important issue for Indonesia. Minister Zulkifli Hasan expressed concern that the EUDR could hamper the export of Indonesian agricultural and plantation products to the European Union.
“Indonesia is pushing for the abolition of EUDR so that it does not discriminate against Indonesia’s main commodities,” added Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan.
In the January-July 2023 period, total trade between Indonesia and the Netherlands will reach USD 2.73 billion. In this period, Indonesia’s exports to the Netherlands reached USD 2.17 billion, while Indonesia’s imports from the Netherlands reached USD 559.60 million. Indonesia managed to record a trade surplus of USD 1.61 billion during that period. This shows the importance of trade relations between the two countries.
In 2022, total trade between Indonesia and the Netherlands will reach USD 6.23 billion, with Indonesian exports to the Netherlands amounting to USD 5.38 billion and Indonesian imports from the Netherlands amounting to USD 855.50 million. In that year, Indonesia recorded a trade surplus of USD 4.52 billion.