US investment accord with Indonesia ahead of FTA likely
Afp, Washington
The United States is looking into signing an investment treaty with Indonesia this year to set the pace for a larger free trade pact that could boost bilateral trade by up to 40 percent. Relations between the world's richest nation and the most populous Muslim nation have improved rapidly in recent years and a free trade agreement could be a fitting climax to the blossoming bilateral and Southeast Asian ties. An investment accord, the cornerstone of any US free trade agreement (FTA), with Jakarta is among Washington's top priorities for Southeast Asia in 2007, US officials said. "A bilateral investment treaty, which is effectively the investment chapter of an FTA, is something we are exploring," said David Katz, the director of Southeast Asia and Pacific affairs in the US Trade Representative's office. The United States forged a trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) in 1996 with Jakarta but the largest Southeast Asian nation plunged into financial and political turmoil a year later as a result of a regional currency crisis.
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