‘Bangladesh ready to pursue CEPA with Indonesia’

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Wednesday expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to move towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Indonesia to deepen and diversify bilateral economic ties.
Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Listyowati paid a courtesy call on Humaiun at his office, where they discussed trade and business, investment in the energy sector, disaster management, education and training, capacity building, tourism, cultural exchanges, people-to-people contacts, consular affairs, high-level visits, and cooperation on regional and global issues.
Humaiun urged Indonesia to increase imports of Bangladeshi products and services, including pharmaceuticals, to help deepen and diversify bilateral trade. He also sought Jakarta’s support for Bangladesh’s regional economic ambitions.
The state minister requested Indonesia to ease visa processing for Bangladeshi nationals to facilitate tourism, cultural exchanges and greater people-to-people connectivity.

Ambassador Listyowati reaffirmed Indonesia’s support for diversifying Bangladesh’s exports to the country, including pharmaceutical products.
Highlighting the vulnerability of both countries to natural disasters, Humaiun expressed interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation in disaster management. The ambassador backed the proposal, stressing the importance of knowledge-sharing, exchanging best practices and strengthening capacity-building initiatives to reduce the impact of natural disasters.
Humaiun also sought Indonesia’s support for Bangladesh’s bid to become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Ambassador Listyowati reaffirmed Indonesia’s continued support for the initiatives.
The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming their commitment to closer cooperation at the bilateral, regional and international levels on issues of mutual interest.

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