REPUBLICA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) holds a bilateral meeting with the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, at the China World Hotel, Beijing, Tuesday (17/10/2023). During the meeting, Jokowi hoped for Sri Lanka's support to be able to lift the policy of banning palm oil imports.
He said that palm oil is Indonesia's leading commodity that is produced with respect to environmental standards. “I propose that we form a special mechanism to reopen access to the Indonesian palm oil market in Sri Lanka,” Jokowi said, quoting a press release from the Presidential Secretariat.
In addition, Jokowi encouraged the participation of Indonesian SOEs in Sri Lanka. The president said that several Indonesian SOEs have explored concrete cooperation with Sri Lanka.
Jokowi also hopes that President Wickremesinghe can support such cooperation, especially in the field of procurement of railway carriages and printing of Sri Lankan electronic passports.
During the meeting, Jokowi and Wickremesinghe also discussed improving cooperation between the two countries in various other areas. On the economic front, Jokowi welcomed Sri Lanka's desire to form a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia.
According to the data, Indonesia-Sri Lanka trade volume fell 27.5 percent in 2022, so a concerted effort is needed to increase the value of the two countries' trade. “To that end, I welcome Sri Lanka's desire to form a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia,” Jokowi said.
Finally, President Jokowi and President Wickremesinghe also discussed blue economic cooperation. Jokowi expressed Indonesia's support for Sri Lanka's membership in IORA in the period 2023-2025 and welcomed Sri Lanka's desire to become an ASEAN Sectoral Partner.
“Indonesia also recently hosted the AIS Summit as a platform for cooperation between island and island nations to push innovative solutions for sustainable marine management,” Jokowi said.
Accompanying the President in the meeting were Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of State Owned Enterprises as Ad Interim Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Erick Thohir, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun.
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