Antara News·Indonesia·Monday, September 14, 2026 at 01:24 PM

Germany eyes broader economic ties with Indonesia amid global shifts

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Kuntum Khaira Riswan

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Germany sees significant room to expand cooperation with Indonesia, particularly in the economic sector, as shifts in the global geopolitical order are prompting middle powers to adapt to a changing strategic environment.

German Ambassador to Indonesia, ASEAN and Timor-Leste Ralf Beste said major powers were reassessing their positions amid what he described as Russia’s highly aggressive stance, making cooperation with Southeast Asia increasingly important for Germany.

“We also see, from a German perspective, that our trade is bigger with other smaller countries in ASEAN, so we see there is a lot of potential and maybe the biggest potential of all, especially for a country of Germany, to enlarge our cooperation, especially economically, with Indonesia,” Beste told reporters in Jakarta on Monday.

Indonesia is particularly important to Germany as Southeast Asia’s largest country and the home of the ASEAN headquarters, Beste said.

“Indonesia is the biggest country. It’s also the host country of ASEAN, so it has a leading role and always has. All our eyes are on Indonesia and its potential,” he said.

ASEAN as a bloc is a major trading partner of the European Union and one of its largest trading partners outside Europe, Beste added.

On trade, the European Union is pursuing bilateral trade agreements with several ASEAN member states and is completing the ratification process for its trade deal with Indonesia, known as the IEU-CEPA.

Beste said a comprehensive free trade agreement between the EU and ASEAN would likely take longer to materialize, with the bloc currently prioritizing bilateral agreements with individual ASEAN members.

“So the prospect of a further bilateral one is maybe in the years to come,” he added.

The Indonesian government is targeting the signing of the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) by October 2026.

Following the ratification process, the trade agreement will be submitted to the respective parliaments for consideration and is expected to take effect in early 2027.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said a presidential regulation would later be issued to make the IEU-CEPA a priority for consideration by Indonesia’s parliament.

Hartarto said implementation of the trade agreement would be a game changer for Indonesia by opening wider market access for both sides.

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