President Jokowi Asks Sri Lanka to Lift Ban on Palm Oil Imports
- Arianti Widya
Jakarta – The Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) held a bilateral meeting with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe at China World Hotel, Beijing, China, on Tuesday.
During the meeting, President Jokowi asked the Sri Lankan government to lift the import ban on palm oil.
"Palm oil is Indonesian leading commodity that is produced with due regard to environmental standards. I propose that we establish a special mechanism to reopen market access for Indonesian palm oil in Sri Lanka," the Head of State said.
Presiden Joko Widodo.
- Antara.
Then in the economic field, President Jokowi welcomed Sri Lanka's desire to establish a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia.
Based on data, the volume of Indonesia-Srilanka trade will decline by 27.5 percent in 2022 so joint efforts are needed to increase the value of trade between the two countries.
"For that reason, I welcome Sri Lanka's desire to establish a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia," President Jokowi stated.
Meanwhile, regarding the participation of Indonesian SOEs in Sri Lanka, the President said that several Indonesian SOEs have explored concrete cooperation with Sri Lanka.
Presiden Jokowi memberikan keterangan pers.
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"I hope President Wickremesinghe can support the cooperation, especially in the procurement of railroad cars and printing of Sri Lankan electronic passports."
Furthermore, President Jokowi and President Wickremesinghe also discussed blue economy cooperation, "Indonesia supports Sri Lanka's chairmanship of IORA for the 2023-2025 period and welcomes Sri Lanka's desire to become an ASEAN Sectoral Partner,"
"Indonesia has also just organized the AIS Summit as a platform for cooperation between island nations and island states to encourage innovative solutions for sustainable ocean management," President Jokowi concluded.
