Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull plans to continue free trade talks during visit to Indonesia
Widodo has said any deal must remove all Australian barriers to the importation of Indonesian palm oil and paper
Australia’s prime minister said Monday that he was looking forward to discussing a free trade deal with Indonesia while attending a regional forum in Jakarta.
Malcom Turnbull on Tuesday will attend the first Indian Ocean Rim Association leaders’ summit in the 20-year history of the 21-nation organisation.
Turnbull’s one-day visit to Jakarta comes nine days after Joko Widodo ended his first Australian visit as Indonesia’s president.
The leaders used that Sydney visit to commit to finalising a bilateral free trade agreement this year after 17 years of negotiations. Widodo said the deal must remove all Australian barriers to the importation of Indonesian palm oil and paper.
Turnbull has welcomed trade concessions that Indonesia has already made, including reduced tariffs on Australian sugar and fewer restrictions on Australian live cattle imports.
We’re making very good progress there and I look forward to discussing it further when I’m in Jakarta
“We’re making very good progress there and I look forward to discussing it further when I’m in Jakarta tomorrow,” Turnbull told reporters in the Australian city of Melbourne.