Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - Singapore will increase its cooperation with the Indonesian province of Riau Islands particularly the Bintan, Batam and Karimun free trade zones, Singapore minister Zainul Abidin Rasheed said.

Undeniably, we’re heading towards the globalization of world trade. At the same time countries face challenges other than globalization: regionalism and bilateralism. Indonesia simultaneously faces different levels of trade liberalization, whether at the global (World Trade Organization or WTO), regional (ASEAN Free Trade Area or AFTA) or bilateral level (such as with Australia). The existence of these trade agreements makes world trade relations more complicated.