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Concluding the two agreements would wrap years of talks, which
in the case of Indonesia have dragged on since 2010, stalling
along the way as diplomatic tensions between the two sides
flared.
"I think by the end of this year we'll conclude successfully an
FTA with Indonesia, an FTA with Hong Kong," Australian Trade
Minister Steven Ciobo said at a business lunch in Sydney, when
asked about the outlook for the next 12 months.
He gave no further details on timing, though a deal with
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy but only Australia's
13th-largest trading partner, could come as soon as next month
when Australia's Prime Minister is scheduled to visit.
Ciobo, who has already sealed Australian trade deals with Peru
and with the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership this year also
said U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist rhetoric had
made his counterparts elsewhere more willing negotiators.
Since Trump's election, there has been a "desire from a number
of countries to double down" on trade pacts, Ciobo said, helping
him to seal deals.
He added he was "hopeful" of also signing Australian agreements
this year with the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc
and with the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership.
A deal with Hong Kong, Australia's 12th-largest trading partner,
has been under negotiation since last year.
Two-way trade between the pair is worth roughly A$16.3 billion
($12 billion) according to Australian figures, nearly the same
as Australia's two-way trade with Indonesia.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Erin Cooper; Editing by Sam
Holmes)
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