As one of Indonesia's trading partners, Canada has an important position in bilateral relations from the economic side. For this reason, cooperation between the two countries needs to be increased so that it can support economic growth. The implementation and development of multi-field cooperation between Indonesia and Canada has been a priority for both countries in establishing bilateral cooperation over the past few years. Canada is also one of the important trading partners for Indonesia with the trade value between the two countries reaching USD 4.3 billion in 2022, an increase of 37.14% from the previous year. In terms of investment, Canada ranks 15th with an investment value of USD 964 million during the period 2018-2022. Indonesia-Canada bilateral economic relations have been considered strategic considering that the two countries have complementary economic interests.
Both Ministers share the same vision to conclude the ICA-CEPA negotiations next year. The realization of ICA-CEPA is expected to increase Indonesia's GDP to USD 1.4 billion, and Indonesia's exports to Canada are expected to increase by USD 851 million in the medium term. Furthermore, in the Fifth Round of ICA-CEPA held in May-June 2023, there were a number of substantive advances on the discussion of trade issues in goods, services, and investment. Minister Mary Ng acknowledged the importance of the role of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to the Government of Indonesia. During the meeting, Minister Mary Ng hoped that cooperation on halal products could be realized soon. The two Ministers also shared the same view to support each other in various partnership forums, including in IPEF, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
