The Indonesia-European Union bilateral consultation forum agreed to sign a partnership cooperation agreement (PCA) at a two-day meeting which ended in Yogyakarta last Tuesday.
The forum was called to discuss various areas of cooperation implemented since the last meeting held in Brussels in September 2008 and the latest developments in cooperation between Indodesia and the EU, an EU delegation to the meeting said in a press statement on Tuesday. The PCA is the first bilateral agreement between Indonesia and the EU.
The statement said the agreement would hopefully ensure close and sustainable dialog and cooperation to develop partnership such as trade ties between Indonesia and the EU as well as to promote cooperation in education, research, environment, energy, tourism and transportation. Two-way trade between Indonesia and the EU is currently estimated at 20 billion euros. The agreement would also pave the way for a dialog and cooperation in handling border issues, organized crimes, communicable diseases and climate change. Both Indonesia and the EU also agreed to work closely ahead of a climate change meeting in Copenhagen at the end of this year.
