Brexit may affect Indonesia-EU economic cooperation: minister

A senior Indonesian minister said on Thursday that should Britain exit (Brexit) from the European Union (EU), it would affect the economic cooperation between Indonesia and the EU given that Britain has significant economic scale among EU countries.

The minister, however, said that the Brexit would not affect strategic economic cooperation plans between the two economies in the frame of European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EU CEPA).

"The EU CEPA is in EU level. With the existence or non-existence of Britain, talks on EU CEPA would still be progressing. If Britain goes ahead with its exit option, trade pacts with Britain would no longer attached in the EU CEPA," Indonesian Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution said here.

The minister said that the indirect impact of possible Brexit from the EU for Indonesia could not be assessed yet as Indonesian analysts has yet to have knowledge on the certain impacts. But the minister was certain that the direct impact of Brexit would not be significant as Indonesia's cooperation with Britain was moderate level.

Indonesia's investment coordination agency (BKPM) learned that British investment stood at 54.87 million U.S. Dollars in the first quarter this year, ranked 14th from overall foreign investments on origin country basis during the same period.

Indonesian exports to Britain stood at 364 million U.S. dollars in the same period, or ranked 21st from its overall exports to foreign countries, according to the data released by the trade ministry.

Britain was scheduled to hold a popular referendum to exit or remain part of the EU on Thursday. Endit