Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’ head suggests free trade zone be set up between EAEU, Indonesia

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. Head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin has suggested that the issue of creating a free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Indonesia should be considered. "I suggest that the issue of forming an agreement on trade-economic and investment cooperation between EAEU and Indonesia could be addressed, which could be followed by the movement to a respective agreement between EAEU and ASEAN," he told a Russian-Indonesian business forum on Thursday. Shokhin mentioned successful examples of EAEU’s cooperation with other countries. Particularly, since the free trade zone launch with Vietnam in 2016, trade turnover between the countries has notably increased, he said. "I think that the signing and even the talks that imply an obvious connection of positions of business communities of the two countries on the agreement, could breathe new life into our relationship and return to the positive dynamics of bilateral relations," head of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs explained. According to a survey conducted among the union’s participants at the end of 2018, the number of Russian companies interested in cooperation with Indonesia has risen three-fold. Nevertheless, Shokhin believes that the expansion of the Russian-Indonesian international economic ties "is lagging behind the wish of Russian and Indonesian companies to work more actively." He added that the main factors hindering the development of economic relations between the two countries is the lack of a system of multi-discipline review of joint projects, the lack of mutual awareness (particularly regarding regional projects), a complicated system of products’ supplies logistics and heavy administrative burden. Read more