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JAKARTA: Indonesia's Trade Minister Budi Santoso (pic) has said the government is optimistic that the national economy and trade will continue to grow, given that the country has recorded a trade surplus for 56 consecutive months, reported Antara news agency.
"Amid global challenges that are getting more complex and multidimensional, Indonesia's trade balance continues the monthly surplus, which has occurred since May 2020," he said.
At a CEO gathering organised by the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) in Jakarta on Monday (Feb 17), he invited business players to support his ministry's programmes.
The programmes include securing the domestic market, expanding exports, and increasing export-oriented micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The minister said that under the programme to secure the domestic market, his ministry is pushing for the formulation of export and import policies to protect the domestic market.
The policies will seek to create a conducive domestic business climate while attracting foreign investors, besides helping increase the competitiveness of domestic products and protection of domestic industries.
Regarding the expansion of the export market, the direction of the policies is to open market access and reduce trade barriers through the completion of trade agreement negotiations, Santoso informed.
To date, 19 trade agreements have been implemented, other 10 trade agreements have been signed or ratified,16 are in the negotiation process, and six others outside of free trade agreements and comprehensive economic partnership agreements are being processed.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade has carried out several initiatives to develop products and expand exports to increase the number of export-oriented MSMEs.
Santoso further said that his ministry is also helping MSMEs carry out exports, including through business matching.
In January 2025, at least 72 business matching events were organised, with transactions reaching US$5.22 million. - Bernama-Antara
