JAKARTA: The Gulf Cooperation Council and Indonesia signed a deal on Wednesday to start long-awaited talks for a free trade agreement, which the Indonesian government expects to increase the country’s commercial presence in the Middle East. 
Indonesia already has a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with one GCC member, the UAE, its first with a Gulf nation.
After the pact entered into force last September, Indonesian officials have been working to enhance trade ties with other members of the group — Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE.
The agreement to start the talks was signed in Jakarta by GCC Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi and Indonesia’s Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan.
“This is historic. GCC comprises countries with strong economy, high purchasing power. We have relations that go way back, but our trade is small,” Hasan told reporters.  
“Hopefully, we will conclude negotiations in two years. This is just the launch, so it’s going to be a marathon and we will start negotiating in September … It’s been years since we first started proposing an agreement, but it’s only today that we are launching the talks.”
The first round of talks is planned to take place in September, he said.
Indonesia’s trade with GCC countries was valued at around $15.7 billion last year, with its main export commodities including palm oil, coffee, jewelry and motor vehicles. 
A free trade agreement with the group is expected to help Indonesia expand its ties with the region, which have traditionally revolved around domestic workers, and Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. 
“There have been many trade barriers,” Hasan said. “We want to send doctors, but we have different standards. We want to send seafood, but our health standards are not the same, so it’s been very hard because we don’t have any agreement regarding trade.”
Al-Budaiwi told reporters in Jakarta that the Gulf countries are also interested in greater cooperation with Indonesia.
“Trade with Indonesia is multifaceted and very developed. The most important thing from our meeting today is that we want to open up new sectors,” he said. 
“We are certain that this launch will pave the way to increase the trade volume even further.”