Jakarta. A senior minister recently said that Indonesia had yet to lodge an application to join the Singapore-backed FIT trade coalition despite Jakarta's interest in the new group.

The freshly minted FIT -- short for the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership -- is a multi-regional group of countries that aims to address trade-related issues for greater growth. Two fellow ASEAN members, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, founded the group in September 2025, alongside twelve other countries that extend even to the Middle East.

Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto reconfirmed Indonesia’s interest in adding FIT to its long list of trade clubs. However, Southeast Asia's biggest economy had not officially begun its membership bid.

“Yes, we will [join FIT], … but we haven’t [sent a letter],” Airlangga said on the margins of the Conference on Indonesian Foreign Policy (CIFP) over the weekend.

Asked about the likely date of accession, Airlangga said: “Well, we can join the coalition soon, right after we send the application letter.”

Fourteen countries -- including Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Costa Rica, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, and Panama -- founded the group. Rwanda, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, as well as Uruguay are also the original members.

When the FIT club took shape, their joint ministerial declaration showed they would prioritize supply chain resilience, among other key items.

The FIT Partnership, not long ago, officially brought Paraguay and Malaysia into its fold. Indonesia first unveiled interest in the 16-strong FIT Partnership when it attended the group’s ministerial meeting as an observer last month. Indonesia was pushing for paperless trade, which it believed could supercharge “efficiency, transparency, and inclusivity.”

“We view FIT as a platform that can harmonize standards, strengthen cybersecurity, and empower micro and small enterprises to access global markets. Indonesia is considering becoming a member,” Airlangga, who represented Jakarta at the talks, said at the time.

The Singaporean government had said that the FIT Partnership economies had decided to “temporarily defer the admission of new members for a few months”, according to Channel News Asia. The island nation attributed the freeze to the group’s wish to “focus on implementing and developing initiatives”.

At home, Indonesia is pursuing new trade pacts with the US tariff salvo even adding momentum to the negotiations. Jakarta is planning to sign a preferential trade agreement with Tunisia next month. 

Official statistics showed that Indonesia’s export of January-September 2025 totaled $209.81 billion, up 8.14 percent year-on-year. Indonesia registered Rp 644.6 trillion ($38.7 billion) in foreign direct investment inflows over the same nine-month period.

It would not be a surprise for Jakarta to pursue a seat at the FIT Partnership. President Prabowo Subianto had repeatedly said “a thousand friends is too few, one enemy is too many”, reflecting Indonesia’s intent to expand its international cooperation.

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