The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are working on ways to increase regional economic cooperation. The Indonesian Trade Ministry Director General for International Trade Cooperation Gusmardi Bustami was quoted Sunday as saying that senior economic officials from both sides conducted the first meeting on July 11-12 in Salalah, Oman. "At the meeting, we exchanged views and information about ways to improve economic cooperation, such as mechanisms of decision making in Asean, which involves existing councils," the Jakarta Post quoted him as saying. The total trade between Indonesia and GCC countries reached $10.11 billion last year, up 31.43 percent from $7.69 billion in 2009. Indonesia exported $2.98 billion and imported $7.12 billion, resulting in a deficit of $4.14 billion. Indonesia mainly exports paperboard, pulp and paper products, vehicles, wood, electrical and electronic equipment, rubber and textiles, and imports oil (representing 77.69 percent of total imports last year), organic chemicals, aluminum, plastics, iron and steel. Gusmardi, who led a meeting with Gasim Bin Mohammed Al-Qasmi, the head of economic affairs at the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said both parties also discussed a framework agreement for economic and investment cooperation as well as measures necessary to commence free trade negotiations between two parties in the services and infrastructure sectors. Gusmardi said the meeting was a follow-up of the ASEAN-GCC two-year action plan (2010-2012) endorsed during the second ASEAN-GCC Ministerial Meeting in Singapore in June last year and agreed at the ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, in August. Initiatives to increase regional cooperation were started three years ago by ASEAN and GCC secretariats. Both parties are exploring possibilities to develop a free trade agreement as well as boost trade and investment partnership. In the second ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Meeting held in June last year in Singapore, the foreign ministers described the gathering as fruitful and productive. They have adopted a two-year action plan which spells out concrete measures to bring about partnerships in the areas of economy, education and culture. There was also a sense of urgency in getting things moving. Relations between Southeast Asia and the Middle East are still in a nascent stage, with potential still largely untapped. The 2-year Plan Of Action outlines measures to be undertaken to unlock this potential by 2012. Cooperation in trade and investment will include discussions over a possible ASEAN-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA). A roundtable involving officials from both sides will be formed to look into what this entails. Trade between both regions has gone up considerably over the past six to seven years – from just $20 billion to about $100 billion.
