The UAE and Indonesia signed deals worth $ 27 billion during Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit to the UAE, and the countries plan to triple bilateral trade over the next four years, up from $ 2.5 billion in 2020 as relationships grow stronger.

The government and private sector entities have signed agreements in different sectors, including energy, aviation, financial services, artificial intelligence, agriculture and defense, the country’s trade minister said on Friday. , Muhammad Lutfi. Agreements valued at around $ 10 billion have been signed with the Indonesian sovereign wealth fund.

DP World has signed a $ 7.5 billion deal with the Indonesian sovereign wealth fund to develop the Southeast Asian country’s seaports over a period of up to 30 years, while Etihad Credit Insurance, the Federal Export Credit Agency of the United Arab Emirates, signed an agreement with State Reinsurance. service provider Indonesia Re to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-cap enterprises to boost exports.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy will seek to boost bilateral trade with the UAE as economic ties deepen, Lutfi said.

“We will sign the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) in the first quarter of next year and hopefully after that… we will double or triple (our trade) by 2025,” he said. declared. The National in a separate interview.

Mr Widodo visited the United Arab Emirates from November 2-4 and met with the country’s top leaders, including Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces , and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, vice president and ruler of Dubai. , to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Bilateral trade between the UAE and Indonesia reached about $ 2.5 billion in 2020. The UAE exported goods worth about $ 1.5 billion to Indonesia, while the South Asian country’s imports from the United Arab Emirates amounted to $ 1 billion.

“The trade deficit is linked to energy imports from the United Arab Emirates, especially oil and its derivatives,” he said, while adding that the country was looking to increase its stainless steel exports, gold jewelry and fresh agricultural products to the Emirates.

Indonesia sold $ 8.6 billion worth of jewelry last year, and 37% of it passed through Singapore to reach the United Arab Emirates, he said.

“We want to accelerate the CEPA agreement to ensure that Indonesia will double and triple its export and import size with the United Arab Emirates.”

Indonesia will also conduct a joint study with the United Arab Emirates to explore the possibility of forming a joint venture with Emirates Global Aluminum in the South Asian country.

“We would like to see the possibility for the Indonesian state enterprise and EGA to cooperate in order to obtain aluminum production in Indonesia. This is also one of the opportunities that we are looking for. “

EGA is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, Mubadala Investment Company, and the Investment Corporation of Dubai. It has more than 400 clients in more than 50 countries.

Last year, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a preliminary agreement with Indonesians Pertamina and Chandra Asri to explore the possibility of developing a crude oil to petrochemical complex in Indonesia.

Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company Masdar also signed a power purchase agreement with Indonesia’s national power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara to develop the country’s first floating photovoltaic solar power plant.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is also investing $ 400 million to conduct an initial public offering of Indonesia’s largest tech company, GoTo.

This is Adia’s Private Equity department’s first major investment in the technology sector in Southeast Asia and its largest investment in Indonesia, he said last month.

“Our digital economy will be an important part of our development,” said Mr. Lutfi. “We are currently worth $ 40 billion and in 2030 we will exceed $ 330 billion, which is one of the largest and most robust digital economies in Southeast Asia.”

Indonesia’s economy is expected to grow 3.2% in 2021 and 5.9% in 2022 after contracting 2.1% last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In March, the United Arab Emirates invested $ 10 billion with the Indonesia Investment Authority to finance infrastructure and tourism projects in the country.

Indonesia will also seek to strengthen its trade relationship with Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the Arab world, Lutfi said.

Update: November 6, 2021, 6:24 a.m.