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Rakornis Perwadag 2024, Minister Of Trade Zulkifli: Prepare Strategy To Overcome Trade Barriers

Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan, has requested Trade Representatives (Perwadag) from the Ministry of Trade serving in various countries around the world to develop and strengthen strategies to overcome global trade barriers. Indonesia's exports to various countries around the world are expected to run smoothly without any disruptions. With specific strategies, the Ministry of Trade is optimistic that it can take advantage of many export opportunities and ensure that the trade surplus trend can be maintained.

This was conveyed by Minister Zulkifli Hasan during a virtual address at the Coordination Meeting and Technical Meeting (Rakornis) of Perwadag Abroad in 2024 held in Melbourne, Australia on July 10-12, 2024.

"There are trade barriers such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) which impact Indonesia's agricultural exports, but export opportunities remain wide open. With the right strategy, we can take advantage of these opportunities. One of them is by expanding markets to ASEAN, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America," emphasized Minister Zulkifli Hasan.

In addition to strategies, Minister Zulkifli Hasan also emphasized the importance of collaboration and hard work to achieve national export targets. "Quickly finalize trade agreements that are still pending, such as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to prepare for more competitive competition in the future," he said.

This year's Perwadag Coordination Meeting resulted in a formulation of export enhancement strategies with a primary focus on reducing tariffs and giving special attention to countries that serve as regional hubs. The Perwadag will focus on three main pillars, namely trade in goods, services, and investment. These efforts are made to secure national interests and prioritize issues of common interest.

The strategy was then formulated with concrete steps, such as expanding the network with business actors, government, and relevant institutions in accredited countries to strengthen Indonesia's trade position. In addition, also focusing on the development of the service trade sector which has great potential.

Several successful export enhancement strategies have been formulated through this Perwadag coordination meeting, including strengthening the transformation of export structure through strengthening Perwadag's role in increasing exports of manufactured products to accredited countries; strengthening exports through digital information provision, trade digitalization, and electronic trading; as well as enhancing coordination, innovation, and synergy between Perwadag, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, ministries and institutions, local governments, and business actors.

Acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade, Suhanto added that one of the moments that can be utilized is the implementation of the Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2024 which will take place on October 9-12, 2024 at ICE BSD Tangerang. In this event, Perwadag is expected to encourage transactions and sign purchase contracts with potential buyers.

Furthermore, Perwadag can also report strategic issues that may disrupt Indonesia's trade performance in accredited countries, utilize digital platforms for product promotion and market expansion, and conduct market research continuously to identify new opportunities and challenges in foreign trade.

"The technical coordination carried out will accelerate the implementation of the Ministry of Trade's programs that are the backbone of achieving Indonesia Emas 2045 targets. This coordination meeting is expected to make a real contribution to the achievement of the set targets, especially the national export increase," Suhanto concluded.

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Tag: Rakornis Perwadag 2024 Zulkifli Hasan