Indonesia officially requests to join CPTPP agreement
Indonesia has officially requested to join the Trans-Pacific trade agreement to expand its export market, state news agency Antara reported.
Specifically, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that Indonesia has sent a letter of application to join New Zealand - the depositary country of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.
"This is a decision we made... to reform the economic structure and open up market access opportunities for the Indonesian economy," Minister Airlangga said.
In May, Jakarta announced its intention to join the free trade agreement, which already has 12 member countries, in hopes of attracting investment by expanding access to export markets.
The members of CPTPP are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto has supported the request, Airlangga said. Prabowo will take over from outgoing President Joko Widodo on October 20.
