Jakarta. Indonesia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) made significant progress in their second round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks, held on February 3-6, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with both sides targeting a final deal by the end of 2025.

Led by Johni Martha, the Trade Ministry’s Advisor for International Relations and Indonesia’s Chief Negotiator, the discussions focused on accelerating the agreement's completion, with a target of reaching a substantive deal by the end of 2025.

"By addressing every issue thoroughly, we hope the I-GCC FTA will achieve substantial agreements this year. The negotiations are among Indonesia's national priorities," Johni said in Jakarta on Monday.

Key advancements included agreements on trade in goods and services, investment, technical barriers to trade, rules of origin, customs procedures, and trade facilitation. Other areas of progress encompassed sanitary and phytosanitary measures, economic cooperation, Islamic economy initiatives, and intellectual property rights.

The GCC, comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, represents a key trading bloc in the Persian Gulf region. Indonesia’s primary trading partners in the GCC are Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

According to the Ministry’s Trade Policy Agency, the agreement is projected to boost Indonesia’s exports, particularly in sectors such as electrical equipment (up by 33.86 percent), leather (29.3 percent), metal products (28 percent), and other manufactured goods (27.7 percent).

Looking ahead, both parties aim to finalize initial offers and calculations in the next round of talks, scheduled to take place in Indonesia during the second half of 2025.

“Our goal for the next round is to map out initial offers thoroughly, ensuring Indonesia maximizes the benefits of tariff eliminations in Gulf countries,” Johni added.

The I-GCC FTA was officially launched on July 31, 2024, with the first round of negotiations held in Jakarta in September 2024. This marks Indonesia’s third trade agreement with Middle Eastern partners.

In 2023, total trade between Indonesia and the GCC amounted to $15.7 billion, with Indonesia exporting $6.1 billion and importing $9.6 billion. Key non-oil and gas exports included motor vehicles, palm oil, jewelry, paper, and cardboard. Major imports from the GCC included semi-finished iron and steel products, ethylene polymers, sulfur, and unwrought aluminum.

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