Government Forms Special Task Force to Accelerate Trade Negotiations

Issues regarding international economic cooperation are vital, particularly concerning CEPA, FTA, tariff negotiations, and other factors that significantly impact our economic growth.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government has formed a special working group (pokja) to accelerate the finalisation of trade agreements and international economic cooperation to support higher economic growth targets.

The group is named Working Group IV for Economic Cooperation and International Relations, which is part of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Government Programmes to Support Economic Growth Enhancement (P3-MPPE). The task force was established through Presidential Decree Number 4 of 2026.

In a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday, the Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Susiwijono Moegiarso, stated that Working Group IV was formed to optimise economic diplomacy, including accelerating the completion of various trade agreements and economic partnerships.

“Because international economic cooperation issues are very important, especially in relation to CEPA, FTA, tariff negotiations, and so on, which greatly influence our economic growth,” said Susiwijono.

The working group will play a role in expanding export market access, strengthening international economic cooperation, and encouraging increased investment into Indonesia.

The Deputy for Coordination of Economic Cooperation and Investment at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Edi Prio Pambudi, explained that Working Group IV has three main pillars: market analysis and strategy, diplomacy and coordination, and policy recommendation and implementation.

Through the market analysis and strategy pillar, the working group will collect and analyse geo-economic data, identify trade barriers from partner countries, and map opportunities for expanding market access and investment.

Meanwhile, under the diplomacy and coordination pillar, the government will accelerate the conclusion of economic partnership negotiations and strengthen Indonesia’s position in various international forums.

As for the policy recommendation and implementation pillar, Working Group IV will encourage the harmonisation of domestic regulations with global standards, oversee the ratification of international agreements, and resolve various implementation obstacles.

Edi added that the government will also strengthen assistance for business actors to ensure they can capitalise on the market opportunities opened by various international economic agreements.

“We must be proactive in addressing various issues. We also need to champion labour-intensive industries that currently have large markets but are competing within narrow segments. Therefore, we need to increase cooperation with business actors so that when our market expands, it can be immediately utilised by them,” he said.

During the meeting, an overview was also provided of the Accelerating Core Economics (PACE) Information System, an integrated cross-sector reporting and monitoring system for KSEI. This system contains information regarding the types of agreements, validity periods, signatories, fields of cooperation, stages and current conditions, as well as the challenges being faced.