Indonesia, Timor Leste Agree to Boost Bilateral Trade

The Indonesian and Timor Leste governments have reached an agreement to increase bilateral trade as well as working to soon complete the bilateral investment treaty.

During a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor on Tuesday, July 19, President Joko Widodo and his Timor Leste counterpart Jose Ramos-Horta discussed a number of trade issues and agreed that bilateral trade must be increased since economic relations have been growing positively.

“We agree to continue increasing trade between the two countries. And taking into account the positive trade relations, I’m optimistic that the bilateral trade will continue to increase,” President Jokowi said on Tuesday, as reported by Antara.

Aside from trade, the Indonesian leader also affirmed the commitment of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and national corporations to take part in Timor Leste’s development.

Widodo also said the finalization of bilateral investment treaty will be made soon, and the value of Indonesia’s investment in Timor Leste will reach up to US$818 million in banking, oil and gas, and telecommunication sectors.

The bilateral meeting also saw the signing of four agreements in agriculture, cross-border movement, standardization and metrology, as well as technical cooperation in trade.