MELBOURNE, Feb 19 (Bernama) — Simon Crean, Australia’s Trade Minister and his Indonesian counterpart Mari E. Pangestu, conducted Free Trade Agreement last Thursday in Sydney to help strengthen the bilateral trade and investment relationship.

This Australia-Indonesia Free Trade Agreement would help build on the solid foundation of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA and deliver significant economic benefits for both countries.

“An FTA between Australia and Indonesia would be a major step forward in the bilateral trade and economic relationship. Both governments must now consider the study.

“I will discuss the next step with my ministerial colleagues, including undertaking a process of further public consultation,” Crean said in a statement.

“The Australia-Indonesia trade relationship has not kept pace with the growing strength of many other aspects of the bilateral relationship. A bilateral FTA could help realise the significant untapped potential in our trade relationship.

“We agreed that an FTA which covers trade, investment and capacity building issues would be the best way to build a new economic partnership between Indonesia and Australia,” he added.

He said the Australian Government — like Indonesia — placed emphasis on multilateral trade liberalisation, but he also said these arrangements could be enhanced by a high quality bilateral FTA.

Both Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a liberal international trading environment to ensure that trade played a positive part in dealing with the global economic crisis.

“We agreed on the importance of concluding a comprehensive, balanced outcome in the World Trade Organization Doha Round of trade negotiations in 2009,” Crean said.

He added that the soon to be signed ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) — Australia’s largest FTA agreement — would help drive regional economic integration.