Indonesian business leaders and their Japanese counterparts are to meet next week to identify mutual opportunities from the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two countries.
"Members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( Kadin) have prepared dozens of business proposals for their Japanese counterparts," Kadin chairman Mohammad Hidayat was quoted Monday by English daily The Jakarta Post as saying.
Hidayat said about 200 top business leaders from the Japan Business Federation (Nihon Keidanren) were expected to accompany Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his visit next week and meet with about 250 Indonesian business leaders to discuss trade and investment opportunities under the EPA framework.
The Japanese prime minister is scheduled to arrive here to sign the long-awaited Indonesia-Japan EPA with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Aug. 20.
Under the EPA, Indonesia will cut tariffs on about 93 percent from the existing 11,163 tariff items, with 58 percent of the tariffs being eliminated upon the signing of the agreement, which will become effective after the House of Representatives ratifies it.
In return, Japan will eliminate more than 90 percent of its existing 9,275 tariff items, of which 80 percent will be eliminated immediately, including tariffs on textile and agricultural products.
Indonesia's total exports to Japan in 2006 amounted to 21.7 billion U.S. dollars, while total imports from Japan stood at 5.5 billion dollars.
Source: Xinhua
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