Jakarta. The United Kingdom is about to join the CPTPP trading bloc next month and it encourages Indonesia to follow suit.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, better known as CPTPP, brings together Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. Once the trade deal enters full implementation, 99 percent of the tariff lines among CPTPP countries will be duty-free.

The UK is set to officially accede to CPTPP on Dec. 15, making it the first non-original member to do so. Indonesia has already applied to the CPTPP in September as the country pursues non-traditional trading partners like Peru and Mexico.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently told President Prabowo Subianto that his country would back Indonesia’s CPTPP membership bid. The two leaders met at 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday local time, and Jakarta’s interest in the trade bloc became one of the topics being discussed. 

“The UK noted that Indonesia has also applied to join CPTPP, seeing the benefits of this dynamic trading group,” a joint statement issued following Prabowo-Starmer talks reads.

“[The UK] expressed its willingness to share its experience of the accession process.”

The UK formally applied to the CPTPP in 2021 as it sought to expand its trade beyond the European Union (EU) following Brexit. It formally signed the necessary protocols for the membership last year. The UK only needed to have at least 6 of the 11 CPTPP members ratify its accession.

Indonesia requested a CPTPP membership just months before Former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo retired. Market expansion had been a major agenda for the two-term president. It was also during Jokowi’s administration that Indonesia signed up to become part of the rich-country club Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The UK is one of the founding members of the OECD, which is known for its strict membership requirements.

Starmer also said that the UK “warmly welcomes” Indonesia’s OECD candidacy.

“[The UK] will provide a package of technical support to assist Indonesia in delivering the reforms needed to meet the requirements for membership,” the statement reads.

During his recent Washington trip, Prabowo told reporters that Indonesia was open to joining any economic bloc that could benefit its population. Prabowo said: “We are joining several economic groups to find the best opportunities for our economy. We have to think of the prosperity of our people.”

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