Jakarta: The signing of the Indonesia-Australia free trade deal could now be delayed, with Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita admitting disquiet over the potential move of the Australian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could push back the signing date.
And Mr Lukita has suggested that Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne needs to pick up the phone and speak to her Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, to address Indonesian concerns over the embassy move.
Fairfax Media revealed this week that the Indonesia-Australian Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the formal name for the trade deal, had been translated and legally ‘scrubbed’ to ensure it complied with both nations’ laws and was ready to be signed.
The date pencilled in for the signing was November 14 at an ASEAN meeting in Singapore which Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Joko Widodo will attend. The pair will hold a short bilateral meeting at the event.
But while the document has been finalised, Mr Lukita on Friday hinted at unease in Kemlu, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, over the possible Australian embassy move. The status of Palestine is such a politically sensitive issue in Indonesia, and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would be politically controversial – and said that Kemlu still needed to give approval for it to go ahead.
“We’re waiting for a signal from the foreign minister [Ms Marsudi]. I met Simon [Birmingham], the Australian trade minister recently in Shanghai and told him ‘our job is to finalise it. At any time we can sign.’ So we [from the trade ministry] can sign it at anytime. It’s done,” Mr Lukita said.
Read the article by James Massola in The Sydney Morning Herald.