UAE, Indonesia Discuss Ways To Enhance Relations, Strategic Partnerships

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 24th Nov, 2020) Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, today held a virtual meeting today with Dr. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia; Kunta Nugraha, Assistant of Minister for Government Expenditure; Suryo Utomo, Director-General of Taxes; and a number of officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.

Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Under Secretary of Resource and Budget Sector at MoF, also attended the meeting, which sought to discuss ways to enhance relations and strategic partnerships between both countries and address G20-related topics.

During the meeting, Al Tayer noted the strong bilateral relations between the UAE and Indonesia, and stressed on the need to continue dialogue between the two friendly countries to strengthen cooperation and joint action in various economic, financial and commercial fields.

Al Tayer said, "The UAE and Indonesia have strong economic and trade relations, which were further enhanced by the strategic agreements and MoU’s signed between them.

These agreements enhance cooperation in various sectors of common interest and include the agreement to protect and encourage investment; and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, which was signed in July 2019. Also, the volume of non-oil trade between the UAE and Indonesia grew by 23% last year, reaching US$2.7 billion in 2019 compared to US$2.2 billion in 2018."

Also discussed during the meeting were ways for the UAE and Indonesia to coordinate on developing economic relations between the UAE and the ASEAN Group in accordance with the framework agreement between the GCC and the ASEAN Group.

The meeting also discussed topics of common interest, including the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion which tackles financial literacy, consumer protection and digital transformation. That, in addition to devising new and innovative solutions to finance infrastructure projects through FinTech and digital currencies. The meeting also deliberated the Republic of Indonesia’s priorities for the G20, which will be held under the Indonesian presidency in 2022.