President Jokowi Pushes for Establishment of Indonesia-Kenya Preferential Trade Agreement

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and President of the Republic of Kenya William Ruto, deliver a joint press statement at State House, Nairobi, Republic of Kenya, Monday (08/21). (Photo by: BPMI Presidential Secretariat)

During a bilateral meeting with President of the Republic of Kenya William Ruto Monday (08/21), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo addressed Indonesia-Kenya cooperation in various sectors.

The President conveyed that the discussion is aimed at pushing for the establishment of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in Kenya.

“Indonesia can function as a gateway for Kenya to access the ASEAN region, while Kenya can play role of Indonesia’s gateway to Sub-Saharan Africa. With that being said, I encourage the formation of preferential trade agreement as soon as possible,” said the President in a joint press statement after the bilateral meeting, at State House, Nairobi, Kenya.

According to the President, the urgency of PTA is driven by the trade volume between the two countries that continues to grow each year.

In 2022, he said, the value of trade between the two nations reached around US$507 million and still needed to be expanded by embarking on various opportunities.

In this regard, his counterpart President William Ruto warmly welcomed the establishment of PTA.

“We are committed to establishing a preferential trade agreement between our two countries,” President William Ruto said.

President Jokowi also pointed out Indonesia’s intention to enhance investments in Kenya’s energy sector and sought the Kenyan Government cooperation to expedite the realization of these investments.

“I seek support from Kenya so that state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina’s investment with the Geothermal Development Company worth US$1.5 billion and with the Guma Group can be realized and expanded in new and renewable energy sector,” he said.

The Head of State also said that it is deemed essential to establish a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) in the future between Indonesia and Kenya.

On that occasion, the President expressed hope that the cooperation between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in respective countries can be expanded to drug products and other pharmaceutical products.

“I hope the collaboration between Biofarma and BioVax with Generics Africa Ltd regarding vaccines and pharmaceutical products and between FDA of the two countries can be expanded to other medicinal poducts and pharmaceutical products,” he said.

Furthermore, President Jokowi also conveyed Indonesia’s commitment to providing assistance to Kenya through the Indonesia-Africa Infrastructure Dialogue (IAID) in the fields of health, food security, and disaster management.

“We need to strengthen the cooperation moving forward, particularly in Kenya’s priority sectors,” the President remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/UN) (RIF/MUR)