JAKARTA: Peruvian President Dina Boluarte met his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto on Monday during a visit aimed at strengthening economic ties as the two countries for new markets amid geopolitical challenges and rising trade barriers.
The signing came just four days after the US President Donald Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries on Thursday, including a 19 percent rate on Indonesia. Imports from Peru are paying the 10 percent baseline rate Trump set in April.
Boluarte arrived in Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta on Sunday afternoon, following an invitation President Prabowo extended when the two leaders met at the APEC Summit in Peru in November 2024.
The two-day visit is aimed at deepening Peru’s ties with Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, after the two nations concluded negotiations which began in May on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or CEPA.
Subianto hosted Boluarte with a ceremony at Merdeka palace in Jakarta before the two leaders lead a closed-door bilateral meeting.
The two leaders are expected to witness the signing of CEPA that could be a major booster to bilateral trade, said Indonesia’s trade minister Budi Santoso ahead of the visit.
“The CEPA deal with Peru is a potential gateway for Indonesian goods and services to enter markets in Central and South America,” Santoso said, “We hope the deal can strengthen Indonesia’s trade presence in the region.”
His ministry’s data showed the country’s total trade with Peru went down from $554.2 million in 2022 to $444.4 million the following year, while Indonesia enjoyed a $290.4 million trade surplus in 2023, driven by major exports including vehicles, footwear and biodiesel.
Indonesia is currently seeking membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Peru is part of, to boost export growth.
