Meeting her counterpart Hayashi Yoshimasa in Tokyo, as well as a number of other Japanese public officials, Retno said in a Monday release that her meetings sought to expand and deepen strategic cooperation on, among other things, the environment, human resources, security as well as ASEAN-related matters.

“Japan is Indonesia’s third-largest trade partner,” said Retno on Monday. “This year’s Strategic Dialogue has a special relevance, as it coincides with the 65th anniversary of Indonesia-Japan bilateral relations as well as 50 years of ASEAN-Japan cooperation.”

“With Japan holding the Group of Seven (G7) presidency and Indonesia serving as the ASEAN chair this year, minister Hayashi expressed his intention to engage in very close communication so as to make this a highly fruitful year,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said via a statement.

Data from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said that in 2022, trade between Tokyo and Jakarta stood at US$42 billion, though Retno added that this amount was still “far behind the value of trade with other East Asian countries”.

As such, the amended IJEPA, projected to reduce tariffs and loosen restrictions on the movement of tourist workers, needed to be finalized sooner than later, Retno said.

Japan’s “flexibility” on the elimination of tariffs on canned tuna products, the advancement of skills for workers in the industry and tourism as well as the liberalization of trade conditions for coffee and sorbitol products, would help improve economic cooperation between the two countries, she added.