Chile, Indonesia sign treaty to boost bilateral trade ties
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian and Chilean governments signed on Wednesday an economic cooperation agreement to boost bilateral trade.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Economic and Technical Cooperation was signed on the first day of Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar's state visit here, and highlighted cooperation in oil and gas, tourism and transportation.
"We agree to increase the value and the volume of our trade by further encouraging the participation of our private sector," President Megawati Soekarnoputri said in a joint press briefing after the signing ceremony.
Mangasi Sihombing, Director-General of Information, Public Diplomacy and International Treaties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed the MOU on behalf of the government, while Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Christian Barros represented the Chilean government.
President Lagos is on a two-day state visit to Indonesia as part of his 10-day global tour that started in South Africa.
Lagos said the visit to Indonesia was significant for the countries to enhance trade relations, particularly as the two were members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
"Indonesia and Chile are committed to integrate in a global world. This is why we are here," Lagos said.
In the economic arena, Indonesia and Chile have decided to encourage an agreement to avoid double taxation, the reduction of which would boost investment between the two.
The countries have also agreed to speed up cooperation between their flagship carriers to "anticipate the increase in flow of people and goods".
Chile will also cooperate in the oil and gas sector; the country is particularly interested in importing natural gas from Indonesia.
The trade value between Indonesia and Chile jumped from US$150.2 million to $155 million last year. Indonesian exports to Chile stood at $78 million and import was $77 million in 2003, an increase from $64.2 million in 2002.
During the bilateral talks, President Megawati asked Lagos to help speed up negotiations between state-owned steel maker PT Krakatau Steel and a Chilean company to import iron ore from Chile amid rising domestic demand.
The Indonesian government has also expressed an interest in increasing cooperation in the fisheries sector with Chile.
To promote tourism, Indonesia and Chile are to grant reciprocal visa-free facilities.
Lagos is scheduled to meet business leaders and academics today (Thursday) before leaving for Singapore and New Zealand.