26-27 September 2012 and 26-27 March 2013

Jakarta

The first round of IA-CEPA negotiations was a split round, which commenced on 26-27 September 2012 and concluded on 26-27 March 2013 in Jakarta. Mr Michael Mugliston, Special Negotiator, Free Trade Agreement Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, led the Australian delegation, which included representatives from seven agencies. Mr Iman Pambagyo, Director-General of International Trade Cooperation, Ministry of Trade, led the Indonesian delegation, which comprised representatives from 13 agencies.

The first round reaffirmed the commitment of both sides to negotiating a comprehensive agreement with commercially meaningful outcomes, while acknowledging recent challenges for the bilateral trade and investment relationship.

The resumed March 2013 meeting commenced consideration of the Indonesia-Australia Business Partnership Group (IA-BPG) Position Paper [PDF 2 MB]. Preliminary discussions were held on the two IA-BPG proposed pilot projects that would build Indonesia's capacity in priority areas such as skills and agriculture. Both sides recognised the valuable contribution that the IA-BPG had made to stakeholder engagement and noted that the paper's recommendations were forward-looking and reflected commercial priorities.

The meeting reached agreement on the Guiding Principles, Objectives and Organisation of Negotiations. The meeting also finalised a number of procedural matters.