JAKARTA – The Indonesian government has officially agreed on two strategic economic agreements, namely the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) and the Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ICA-CEPA).

These two agreements show Indonesia’s strong commitment to expanding international economic cooperation as well as opening up greater market access, increasing investment flows, and strengthening trade relations with key partners in Europe and North America.

The historic momentum was marked by the signing of the ICA CEPA which was witnessed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at Ottawa, Wednesday, September 24, 2025, as well as the signing and joint announcement of the IEU-CEPA Substantive Agreement made by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and the European Commission’s Commissioner for Economic Trade and Security Marofad Badminton in Bali, Tuesday, September 23, 2025.

Spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Haryo Limanseto said that these two agreements are proof of Indonesia’s consistency in fighting for national interests amid the dynamics of global trade.

“By achieving the IEU’s Substantive Agreement and the ICA’CEPA, Indonesia will not only get a stronger bargaining position, but also ensure that real benefits can be felt directly by the business world and society,” he said in his statement, quoted Monday, September 29.

Meanwhile, the Sunarchical Economic Observer said that the European Union is Indonesia’s main trading partner with a share of about 10 percent of the total national exports.

He said that most of Indonesia’s exports to Europe were in the form of strategic commodities to support the industrialization and food needs in the region, such as metal minerals for the automotive, iron and steel, as well as electronics, as well as CPO products and other vegetable oils used in the biofuel, food and cosmetic industries.

According to him, through the IEU’CEPA, exports of these superior products are projected to increase and have wider market access.

Furthermore, the Sun archive also mentioned that the IEU’CEPA Agreement is also expected to enlarge Indonesia’s export share to Europe as well as become a strategic alternative market amid an unbalanced global trade rate policy, including from the United States.

He said that this agreement is expected to be an important support when export demand from other main partner countries, such as China and India, weakens, so as to maintain Indonesia’s export resilience and competitiveness in the long term.

“This IEU-CEPA policy will ultimately be a source of surplus strengthening for our trade balance, which will certainly strengthen the position of our foreign exchange reserves,” he explained.

Similarly, University of Indonesia Professor Firman Kurniawan explained that after the IEU’CEPA Substantive Agreement was reached, a derivative policy was needed to encourage partnerships between big business actors and MSMEs, so that the economic benefits of this agreement could be felt widely.

According to him, in order to encourage the dissemination of information regarding the agreement to the public, the Government needs to emphasize the importance of multistep communication which is able to bridge the substance of the complex agreement into a language that is more practical and easy for MSME actors to understand.

Then, Firman highlighted that in the midst of the swift flow of public information, public attention will be more focused on substance that is directly related to personal interests.

He said that in the context of the IEU’CEPA Agreement which is a historic momentum after nearly a decade of long negotiations, the Government must package a communication message highlighting the real benefits for the public, even to sectoral levels so that economic opportunities from the agreement can be understood and utilized optimally.

“In order not to experience misinformation, conventional and digital media need to be involved in dialogue to fully understand the meaning of the agreement or benefits and opportunities obtained by the Indonesian people,” said Firman.

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