Indonesia to sign free trade deal with Eurasian Union in 2025
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the agreement would open up new opportunities for commodities including crude palm oil, coffee and natural rubber.
Both parties announced on Thursday they had completed substantive talks for the agreement.
'I hope both parties can immediately follow this up by completing all the necessary stages of the process so that this agreement can be signed this year,' Airlangga said.
As of March, the value of trade between Indonesia and the EAEU stood at $1.6 billion, 85% more than the same period last year, Indonesia's coordinating ministry for economic affairs said.
The EAEU is already one of Indonesia's biggest palm oil buyers, with imports valued at $544.64 million in 2023.
The EAEU's main exports to the Southeast Asian nation include fertilisers and ferro-alloys.
The completion of Indonesia-EAEU FTA talks was announced on Thursday during President Prabowo Subianto's visit to Russia this week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The EAEU has five members: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Ukraine and Belarus hackers disrupt Aeroflot flights in cyberattack
MOSCOW: Ukrainian and Belarusian hacker groups have claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Russia's national airline Aeroflot, causing significant flight disruptions. The attack, which targeted Aeroflot's IT systems, led to the grounding of at least 64 flights on Monday and the cancellation of 14 more scheduled for Tuesday. Russia's state prosecutor's office confirmed the incident as a 'hacking attack,' launching a criminal investigation. Aeroflot described the issue as a 'breakdown in the IT system,' though passengers reported widespread cancellations. 'We've already arrived at the airport and found out that the flight has been cancelled,' said Mikhail, a stranded traveler at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. 'This is not the first flight cancelled in July for us. It's sad, it's impossible to plan business trips.' The Ukrainian hacking group Silent Crow and Belarusian Cyber Partisans jointly claimed responsibility. 'We announce the successful completion of a long-term and large-scale operation that resulted in the complete compromise and destruction of the internal IT infrastructure of Aeroflot,' they stated. Cyber Partisans highlighted weak security measures, alleging that Aeroflot's CEO Sergei Alexandrovsky had not updated his password since 2022. The group also accused the airline of relying on outdated software, including Windows XP and Windows 2003. The hackers suggested they might release personal data of Aeroflot passengers, though Russia's cybersecurity watchdog Roskomnadzor has not confirmed any breach. Aeroflot assured passengers that it was 'working to restore normal operation as quickly as possible,' noting that most flights remained on schedule. The Kremlin expressed concern, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating, 'We will, of course, clarify the information and wait for an appropriate explanation.' The incident adds to growing tensions over cyberwarfare, with Ukraine and its allies accusing Russia of state-backed hacking campaigns. Earlier this month, Europol dismantled a pro-Russian hacking group linked to thousands of attacks against Ukraine and its supporters. - AFP
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trump cuts Russia ultimatum to 10 days amid Ukraine war talks
ABERDEEN: US President Donald Trump has dramatically shortened his ultimatum to Russia, giving Moscow just '10 or 12 days' to end the war in Ukraine or face severe sanctions. The announcement came during his meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating, 'I'm not so interested in talking to him anymore.' He had initially set a 50-day deadline on July 14 but now insists on quicker action. 'There is no reason in waiting,' Trump said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump's stance, thanking him for his 'clear stance and expressed determination' in a social media post. The leaders also discussed the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Trump acknowledged signs of 'real starvation' and announced plans for US-backed 'food centres' in the region. Starmer described the situation as an 'absolute catastrophe.' Trade relations were another key topic, with Trump hinting at leniency for UK pharmaceuticals under the new US-UK trade deal signed in May. 'We certainly feel a lot better with your country working on pharmaceuticals for America,' he told Starmer. The meeting followed a landmark US-EU trade agreement, with Trump's administration pushing for rapid global trade restructuring. Deals with Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia are set to take effect on August 1. Trump is scheduled to open a new golf course in Aberdeenshire before returning to the US. - AFP
The Star
42 minutes ago
- The Star
Selangor invests in chip design capacity building
PETALING JAYA: The Selangor state government is committing between RM5mil and RM10mil annually over the next 10 years to develop the front-end semiconductor value chain, which involves chip designing. Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state's commitment also depends on the commitment from the federal government. He noted that the federal government, through the Economy Ministry, has increased its support from RM60mil to RM100mil. 'As of now, we are committing almost RM5mil to RM10mil a year. However, it depends on the commitment from the federal government. It is a one-to-one investment,' he told the media on the sidelines of the launch of the first-ever Arm-led training programme in Malaysia yesterday. This initiative is a collaborative effort between the Advanced Semiconductor Academy of Malaysia (Asem) and Arm. Hosted under the Malaysia IC Design Park initiative, the Arm On-Demand Training Programme commenced with an inaugural cohort of 400 engineers. The programme is also in line with the billion-ringgit deal that Malaysia secured with Arm Holdings PLC in March this year. Under the deal, Arm will provide Putrajaya with intellectual property (IP) licences and compute subsystems (CSS) for US$250mil (RM1.11bil), to be paid over 10 years. The United Kingdom-based firm will collect royalties on chips sold. Further, the Arm-Malaysia partnership earlier this year also entails the training of 10,000 local integrated circuit (IC) design engineers by Arm. Amirudin said the target is to train around 1,000 engineers a year, beginning with the first cohort of 400 engineers already enrolled in the programme. 'If we have two or three cohorts, we can reach our target of 1,000 each year,' he said. Amirudin said the Arm On-Demand Programme will move Selangor and Malaysia from completely relying on foreign direct investment towards building leaders to form startups which can later go on to be Selangor and Malaysia's leading companies to invest and export to other countries. 'I am thrilled that Arm has decided to commit the next decade of its technical and engineering know-how to hire Selangorians through a partnership with Asem, building on the success of the IC Design Park in Puchong which has over 400 engineers working with some of the leading companies in Malaysia and beyond,' he said. Rakuten Trade head of equity sales Vincent Lau said the amount allocated by the Selangor state government is a good starting point, especially in terms of talent development. 'For training purposes, the amount committed is sufficient – they have already started with a few cohorts, and it is clear the government is serious, especially with the Arm deal in place. 'If more is needed later on, I believe they will adjust accordingly,' he told StarBiz. Lau said it may not be sufficient if the funding is meant to cover the broader goal of developing front-end semiconductor capabilities, which typically require significant capital investment and long-term infrastructure planning. 'However, this is still an important first step. At least now we are on the right path,' he added. Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man said the RM5mil to RM10mil a year is 'definitely not enough' and that it is 'a drop in the ocean' in driving development in the local front-end semiconductor space. 'Not only is it a very specialised and capital-intensive segment of the semiconductor value chain, but Malaysia is also facing fierce competition from other countries, who are putting hundreds of millions of dollars into developing their own front-end IC design industries. 'The good thing is that the federal government is also stepping in with additional funding, and that collective effort could help alleviate some of the talent shortages – particularly in the front-end of the value chain,' he said. On whether the Arm On-Demand training programme can help to plug the talent gap in the semiconductor industry, Neoh said, 'The National Semiconductor Strategy targets 60,000 engineers in six years – about 10,000 annually. 'If 30% to 40% of those are meant for front-end roles, that is about 3,000 to 4,000 engineers a year. 'The Arm-led programme aims to train 10,000 engineers over 10 years, or about 1,000 a year. 'Hence, that covers roughly a third of what is needed for front-end IC design annually – which is actually a significant portion,' he said. To this end, Lau noted Arm's training programme will 'definitely help to plug the talent gap' in the sector. 'Even if we manage to fill 50% to 60% of the gap, it is already an improvement. Any increase in local talent supply is good, especially in light of the short supply of engineers,' he said.
