Indonesia is the most-populous Muslim-majority democracy in the world and has been a partner of the European Union since 2009. Those ties will be further strengthened soon, after the preparatory work to negotiate a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Indonesia and EU was finalised this week.
 
S&D spokesperson on trade, David Martin MEP, said:
 
"I welcome this joint statement on EU-Indonesia relations and the news that the initial scoping exercise has been completed, paving the way for the launch of negotiations in the coming weeks.
 
“As a vibrant democracy of almost 250 million citizens, this deal can bring substantive benefits to both partners if the level of ambition is set high enough.
 
“Our group will push for binding commitments in a robust sustainable development chapter, focusing on human rights and the environment. As the world's largest producer of palm oil and a significant producer of timber, we shall particularly be urging the Commission to provide strong and enforceable measures to tackle unsustainable forestry practices.
 
“After our successful negotiations with Vietnam and Singapore, this trade deal with Indonesia reaffirms our commitment to the ASEAN region and will hopefully act as a building block towards an eventual region-to-region FTA."
 
Note to the editors:
 
With 244 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the largest economy in the Association of South-Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, it ranks only at the fourth position inside the region as EU's trading partner, with a bilateral merchandise trade reaching just €23.5 billion in 2011. Trade in commercial services between EU and Indonesia that year represented more than 14% of the total trade, with €3.7bn.