Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi held bilateral talks with Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kanasugi Kenji to discuss cooperation in the transportation sector.
The meeting served as a momentum for Kenji to introduce himself as a new ambassador to Indonesia in place of Ishii Masafumi since February 4, 2021, the Transportation Ministry noted in a statement released on Thursday.
At the meeting, Sumadi and Kenji discussed several cooperation projects between the two countries, including the Patimban Port, the second phase of the mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Jakarta, and the plan for development of the Jakarta-Surabaya semi-high speed railway.
The duo also discussed cooperation for development of several transportation infrastructure projects in Indonesia under a government-to-business corporation (KPBU) financing scheme. At the meeting, the discussions also covered the plan to complete development of the second phase of the MRT system in Jakarta comprising segment 1 (HI Roundabout-Harmoni) currently under construction and scheduled for completion by 2025 and Segment 2 (Harmoni-Kota) expected to be completed by 2027.
Meanwhile other trade agreements are still in play, such as the existing international trade agreements comprise the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IKCEPA), Indonesia-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (IP-PTA), and Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Partnership Economic Agreement (IA-CEPA).
Indonesia's trade balance in 2020 posted a surplus of US$21.7 billion, the highest since 2012. However, the large surplus was owing to a sharp decline in imports. Exports in 2020 only dipped by 2.6 percent year-on-year (YoY), while imports plunged by 17.3 percent YoY.
(source: Antara news/Jakarta Globe)