Indonesia’s export of gold jewellery to the UAE reached $287 million in the first 49 days since the implementation of the Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IUAE-CEPA), according to a media report.

The first gold jewellery shipment, worth $6.98 million, was exported on September 8 under CEPA, the state-owned Antara news agency reported.

The implementation of the IUAE-CEPA has forged a closer bilateral relationship, especially in trade and investment, said Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE Husin Bagis.

The IUAE-CEPA, which came into force on September 1, covers diverse areas, including goods, services, investment, and digital trade.

The report noted that the agreement is expected to boost total bilateral trade value to more than $10 billion within three years.

Indonesian global jewellery exports reached $3.78 billion in 2022.

The top five export markets last year were Switzerland ($1.6 billion), Singapore ($605 million), Jordan ($443 million), the UAE ($364 million), and the US ($330 million).

Total trade between Indonesia and the UAE in 2022 reached $5.06 billion, Antara reported, citing the Ministry of Trade data.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )