The European Union (EU) and Indonesia held their seventhJoint Committee meeting on 29 September in Brussels to review bilateral relations and cooperation as mandated by the 2014 Indonesia – European Union Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The meeting discussed joint efforts to promote bilateral cooperation covering the existing EU-Indonesia working groups and dialogues, and possible joint activities to enable the EU-Indonesia partnership to contribute to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and worldwide.

The EU and Indonesia emphasized the foundations of their relationship, based on shared values and mutual respect grounded in their commitment to democracy. They committed to strengthening consultations to find constructive approaches to address issues of mutual concern.

The Joint Committee discussed recent developments regarding bilateral trade and investment, including how to make progress on the respective issues of concern raised by the EU and Indonesia and ensuring full respect of WTO rules. They confirmed their commitment to expedite work on the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with a view to concluding the talks in 2024. They committed to scheduling the Working Group on Trade and Investment at the earliest opportunity.

On the environment and climate change, they agreed to lead by example according to their multilateral commitments such as the UNFCCC and the SDGs supported by international actors and the $100 billion climate finance commitment. The EU and Indonesia reiterated the strong willingness to cooperate closely on environmental matters to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and continue to work together on cross-cutting issues such as circular economy, marine and plastic pollution, and water cooperation, in addition to deforestation. Indonesia suggested to focus on further cooperation on environment to fulfill national registration systems on climate action, as well as to support the Joint Task Force addressing mutual opportunities and possible challenges presented by the EU’s deforestation regulation. The EU and Indonesia noted positive progress towards convening their Working Group on Environment and Climate Change in the near future.

On climate action and green transition, the EU and Indonesia underscored the importance of cooperation in decarbonising the power sector, targeting both on-grid and off-grid facilities. In this context, they took note of the opportunities offered by the EU’s Global Gateway and by the Just Energy Transition Partnership announced in 2022. On the latter, they look forward to the finalization of the Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan.

The Joint Committee took note of the results of the Working Group on Development Cooperation which was held on 28 September 2023. Both sides agreed on the importance of promoting mutually beneficial development cooperation. The EU elaborated on the Global Gateway Initiative and the proposed future cooperation activities focused on support to PCA implementation, the green transitions and sustainable value chains, which will be implemented in a Team Europe approach with support of the EU institutions, Member States, the EIB and EU National Development Banks. Both sides discussed ways to increase their cooperation in the field of higher education and research.

The EU and Indonesia took note of their recent policy dialogues, including the 6^th Security Policy Dialogue held on 10 May 2023. They reaffirmed their shared values, attachment to international norms, and spirit of consultation in approaching strategic issues of common concern. They agreed to pursue a closer partnership of mutual benefit in the security domain, including in the areas of cybersecurity, counterterrorism and maritime security.

The Joint Committee explored the possibility of convening the next Human Rights Dialogue before the end of 2023, with a view to strengthening cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights.

The EU and Indonesia welcomed the adoption of the Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty which emphasised a balanced approach regarding the rights and obligations of all states towards international waters as the common heritage of mankind. They underlined their commitment to ratifying the BBNJ Treaty as soon as possible, and urged others to do so too and to follow up on commitments to promote capacity building for transfer of technology including sharing the benefits of genetic resources and biotechnology.

The EU and Indonesia also exchanged views on potential cooperation to promote the Indonesia-EU partnership. The meeting took note of Indonesia’s proposals for new programmes, such as an EU-Indonesia Media Dialogue, a “1000 Green Engineers” initiative, an Indonesia-EU Renewable Energy Investment Forum and Indonesia-EU carbon economy cooperation. The EU presented its proposal for a Critical Raw Materials Club. The EU and Indonesia agreed to further explore these proposals.

The EU delegation was headed by Ms Paola Pampaloni, Acting Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service. The Indonesian delegation was headed by Ambassador Umar Hadi, Director-General for American and European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. They were also joined by the European Commission, and EU Member States and representatives from Indonesian government agencies.

The next meeting of the Joint Committee will take place in Indonesia in 2024. Indonesia extended an invitation to hold the meeting in the new capital, Nusantara.