Business Times - 11 Aug 2007
Japan to sign FTA with Jakarta this month
Japan will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Indonesia when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the country later this month, the government said yesterday.
Japan, seeking to secure access to raw materials and markets for its exports, has been negotiating with Indonesia since July 2005, working towards the signing of a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The agreement includes trade in goods and services, investment, movement of people and competition policies.
Mr Abe - who plans to visit Jakarta on Aug 20 on an Asian tour - will formally sign the pact and a joint declaration with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Japanese foreign ministry said.
'This pact is expected to promote liberalisation and facilitation of trade and investment and to activate the economies of both countries by building a mutually-beneficial economic partnership in broad areas,' the ministry said in a statement.
