REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia and Palestine has signed a document of Implementing Arrangement (IA) in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on zero percent import tariffs for dates and virgin olive oil from Palestine. The document was signed by Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita and Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun in Jakarta on Monday.
Enggartiasto said the zero tariff agreement is expected to be implemented in September 2018. "The signing of the IA marks the zero percent import duties for Palestine's dates and pure olive oil to Indonesia. Later, Indonesia will send a diplomatic note to Palestine as a sign that the implementation has begun," Enggartiasto said at a news conference.
The IA document is a technical guide to the MoU on the zero percent import duties for dates and pure olive oil from Palestine to Indonesia. The signing of IA is a follow-up to the ratification of the agreement.
The ratification process has been completed with the issuance of the Presidential Regulation No. 34 of 2018 on the Ratification of the Palestinian MoU on April 11, 2018. "We hope that the signing of the IA can accelerate the implementation of the Indonesia-Palestine MoU," Enggartiasto said.
He added that the MoU mandates the establishment of instruments for export facilitation from Palestine to Indonesia by eliminating import duties. This is a form of Indonesia's support for Palestine, especially in improving the economy of the Palestinian people.
The agreement on the elimination of duties on Palestine's dates and pure olive oil to Indonesia was signed by Minister Enggartiasto and Palestinian National Economic Minister Abeer Odeh on December 12, 2017. The signing was carried out during a bilateral meeting between Indonesia and Palestine on the sidelines of the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Iman Pambagyo, stressed that the Indonesian government would continue to increase its role in the Palestinian struggle. The Ministry will also seek to increase the trade value of the two countries to create sustainable trade.
"With the recognition of Palestine as an independent economic entity, Palestine can obtain its economic sovereignty and be able to carry out trade negotiations both within the framework of the WTO and bilateral relations," Iman said.
Indonesian-Palestinian bilateral trade has not shown a large volume. The lack of trade volume between the two countries is inseparable from the Palestinian domestic conditions.
Data obtained from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) show that the total trade value of the two countries in 2017 was US$2.39 million and entirely consisted of non-oil and gas products.
Indonesia's exports to Palestine in 2017 amounted to US$2.05 million, and the import of dates was US$341 thousand. Indonesia's-Palestinian trade balance in 2017 showed a surplus for Indonesia at US$1.7 million.
Meanwhile, in the period of January-May 2018, the total trade value of the two countries reached US$1.62 million. Indonesia's exports to Palestine amounted to US$912.5 thousand and imports amounted to US$717 thousand, with a surplus for Indonesia amounting to US$195.5 thousand.
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