March 25, 2026 | 01:39 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia is gearing up to champion national interests and call for the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the upcoming 14th WTO Ministerial Conference on March 26–29, 2026, in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
In a statement released by the country's Ministry of Trade in Jakarta on Wednesday, Indonesia is set to bring a number of strategic priority agendas to ensure that the multilateral trading system remains inclusive, fair, and capable of addressing global economic challenges.
Minister of Trade Budi Santoso emphasized that WTO reform will strengthen the global trading system without abandoning the organization’s fundamental principles, the benefits of which will be felt primarily by developing countries.
“WTO reform can strengthen the system and uphold its fundamental principles, including decision-making by consensus and special and differential treatment for developing countries. Indonesia will also continue to push for the dispute settlement system to be restored promptly to ensure legal certainty for all state members,” said Budi, as quoted by Antara.
Indonesia is advocating for fisheries subsidies, agricultural subsidies, e-commerce, the incorporation of joint initiative agreements, and non-violation and situation complaints (NVSC) in the WTO.
Indonesian ministries and agencies have worked closely to prepare the upcoming agenda to ensure Indonesia’s strong position in multilateral negotiations.
Indonesia will also continue its active involvement in negotiations on additional provisions to the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) as well as agricultural sectornegotiations,s highlighting the importance of food security, including government food reserve policies.
This is in light of future challenges that threaten to alter global food production, such as climate change.
Indonesia believes that global rules in this sector must provide fair opportunities for developing countries to maintain domestic food stability.
“Indonesia has always advocated for support for small farmers and fishers in agricultural and fisheries subsidy negotiations, primarily to ensure the creation of fair, effective, and sustainable rules,” said Budi.
On the issue of digital trade, Indonesia emphasizes the importance of comprehensive discussions regarding the future of the moratorium on import duties on electronic transmissions (CDET) and the continuation of the Work Programme on E-Commerce at the WTO.
According to Budi, every global policy in the field of e-commerce must take into account the digital gap and the development needs of developing countries.
The Indonesian delegation to the WTO forum will be led by Johni Martha, Senior Advisor for International Relations at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade.
In addition to attending the main session, the Indonesian delegation is scheduled to participate in a number of ministerial-level meetings, coordination meetings of developing countries, bilateral meetings, and various other supporting agendas to strengthen Indonesia’s position in international trade negotiations.
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