Statement by President Jean-Claude Juncker, President Donald Tusk and President Joko Widodo of Indonesia
Today is a landmark in European Union (EU)-Indonesia relations with the visit by the President of the Republic of Indonesia to the EU's institutions. We have agreed to boost economic relations and advance cooperation on global and regional challenges.
The EU and Indonesia are important economic partners. We see a strong prospect to further expand trade and investment links given the size and the complementary nature of our economies. We welcome the conclusion of the preparatory discussion (scoping paper) for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which should pave the way for deeper and wider economic engagement between the two sides. We look forward to the formal launch of the CEPA negotiations in the coming weeks once internal procedures have been finalized.
Indonesia and the EU are close partners in addressing environmental challenges. We are committed to the sustainable management of forests and to fighting illegal logging and related illegal trade. The EU welcomes the implementation for all types of wood products of the Indonesian Timber Legality Assurance System. We welcome the full implementation of the Indonesia-EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and agree to move expeditiously towards the start of the FLEGT licensing scheme. We look forward to the first shipment of FLEGT-certified timber from Indonesia in the coming months. The EU is committed to ensuring the uniform and effective implementation of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR).
We acknowledge the significance of palm oil for both economies and are committed to strengthen cooperation on sustainable palm oil.
We recognize Indonesia’s maritime vision and Indonesia welcomes EU’s support in realizing the vision.
Promoting tolerance through dialogue and cooperation is key for both sides, as isenhancing mutual respect and understanding among people.
We welcome the visa waiver extended to all EU Member States by Indonesia and underscored the importance of easier access and movement among the people to increase close relations and bring mutual economic and social benefits.
We welcome the adoption of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We look forward to strengthening our climate cooperation and will focus on making the Paris Agreement a reality.
We welcome recent progress in the implementation of the EU-Indonesia Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) and look forward to the convening of the Joint Committee before the end of the year. We also welcome the launch of the Ministerial Strategic Dialogue in Jakarta on 8 April 2016.
We strongly condemn recent acts of terror in Jakarta, Brussels and elsewhere. Terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization, or ethnic group. We commit to stepping up our cooperation in the fight against terrorism and radicalism as well as in the security field, both bilaterally and in the international sphere.
The EU welcomes Indonesia's recent appeal for restraint in the Middle East. We reaffirm our commitment to support the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and will continue to contribute to international initiatives working to this end. We reaffirm our support for a political solution to the conflict in Syria.
We are concerned with trafficking in persons and people smuggling: this is an increasing challenge worldwide. We will work closely on this through relevant regional and international fora. The EU raised efforts to address the current migration and refugee crisis, through cooperation with countries of origin, transit and destination, in the context of the UN and G20.
The European Union supports ASEAN’s unity and centrality in various ASEAN-led mechanisms and in the evolving regional architecture. Indonesia welcomes the EU’s interest infurthering engagement in all ASEAN-led mechanisms and its continued support to ASEAN.
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year; we are determined together to ensure a successful outcome at the 11th ASEM Summit on 15-16 July 2016 in Mongolia.
The European Union and Indonesia enjoy close relations based on shared values of democracy and good governance, respect for human rights, and the promotion of peace, stability and economic progress. We came together today to demonstrate our ambition to bring the European Union and Indonesia even closer together.
STATEMENT/16/1516
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