Jakarta, 6 December 2017
 
The second Joint Committee under the EU-Indonesia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) met in Jakarta, 6 December 2017.
 
Cooperation between the European Union and Indonesia spans across many sectors as outlined in the EU-Indonesia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). In this 2nd Joint Committee, the EU and Indonesia reviewed existing cooperation and explored future initiatives to enhance cooperation across political, economic, societal and cultural sectors.
 
Since their last Human Rights Dialogue, the EU and Indonesia have continued their cooperation on human rights on their identified priorities. The two sides look forward to the next round of their Human Rights Dialogue which will take place in Indonesia in early 2018.
 
The European Union and Indonesia have been working together to counter terrorism, to facilitate interfaith dialogue, on capacity-building for armed forces and to enhance security. Countering terrorism and radicalisation, enhancing cooperation on peacekeeping, maritime security, crisis management, and counter narcotics, and combatting transnational organised crimes are areas that the EU and Indonesia have identified as priorities moving forward. Both parties also emphasised the importance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran as an essential element for global security, the need for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respect its international obligations under international law and relevant UNSC Resolutions, and the need to facilitate the return of refugees to Rakhine State in Myanmar.

The EU and Indonesia welcomed the progress in negotiations on the EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU CEPA). Preparations for the 4th round of negotiations are ongoing, planned to be held in Indonesia in the beginning of 2018.
 
Both sides underline the importance of strengthening dialogue and cooperation to develop the sustainability of palm oil production, and working towards acceptance of improved Indonesian certification in the European Union market. The EU and Indonesia stressed that sustainable palm oil directly contributes to poverty eradication, community development and the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Both sides expressed their satisfaction about the quality of current ongoing development cooperation in the areas of education, good governance, reform of the public finance management, climate change and trade-related assistance. New cooperation mechanisms were explored to support more investments in the future.
 
As regards the environment and climate change, the EU and Indonesia see the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals and actions to mitigate climate change as important objectives. Following the success of the 1st Working Group on Environment and Climate Change (WGECC), launched in Jakarta, 22 February 2017, both the EU and Indonesia are exploring concrete cooperation on the implementation of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), forestry and environment, including sustainable palm oil and social forestry.
 
The Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) License, which was agreed one year ago between the EU and Indonesia, marks a major milestone in the global fight to eliminate illegal logging and the trade in illegal timber products. Enhanced cooperation on this issue would ensure the smooth implementation of FLEGT to the benefit of both the EU and Indonesia.
 
The European Union and Indonesia make use of many channels of communication, such as working groups and dialogues, to address diverse issues of cooperation. They also seek to expand concrete initiatives on several areas including people to people and parliamentary contacts, fisheries and maritime, civil aviation, research and technology, higher education, and renewable energy.
 
The meeting was jointly opened and co-chaired by Mr Gunnar Wiegand, Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific in the European External Action Service, and H.E. Muhammad Anshor, Director General for American and European Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
 
The next Joint Committee meeting will take place in Brussels in 2018.