New trade deal a win-win for Indonesia and Australia, says PM

The long-awaited deal, which has been years in the making and was due to be signed last December, could deliver a big boost to Australian universities and health providers by making it easier for them to set up operations in Indonesia.

Aussie farmers are also expected to receive certainty in the form of annual quotas which will determine the volume of beef, live cattle, potatoes and other agricultural products that can be exported to Indonesia.

Speaking ahead of his first meeting with Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, just a week after taking over as prime minister from Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Morrison also reassured the leaders of Pacific island nations that they could "count on me" - despite him missing the Pacific Island Forum on Nauru next week.

And at a time when China’s rising economic influence and military presence in the Asia-Pacific is causing growing concern, Mr Morrison reassured Beijing that Australia's deepening strategic relationships with nations including Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, were no cause for concern.

"This is a skills transfer and sharing [trade deal]. This is building up capabilities within economies. It is about using Australia's strengths to build in Indonesia but at the same time provide opportunities for Indonesia to tap into what is happening in Australia," he said.

"It is much more than a trade deal we are talking about today. It is not a transaction. This is a partnership."

"The economic relationship is where we are underdone and it is the economic relationship that needs more balance, more grunt, more investment, more engagement."

Mr Morrison said he was disappointed to miss the Pacific Island Forum – China’s growing influence in the Pacific has also become a concern for some nations in the region - and that "in normal circumstances I would be there".

Relations with China under Mr Turnbull turned frosty as the government passed new foreign interference laws and took a harder line with Beijing. Mr Morrison emphasised the importance of Australia’s "shared prosperity" with the economic power house.

Mr Morrison and Mr Joko were due to meet at the Presidential Palace in Bogor on Friday and announce the formal end of negotiations on the trade deal.

The pair are also expected to announce the relationship between the two nations will be upgraded from "comprehensive partnership" to "comprehensive and strategic partnership".

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership declaration will "highlight five pillars": the economy, security cooperation including cyber security and combating terrorism, maritime cooperation, people-to-people contact and regional cooperation. Australia has recently reached similar agreements with Singapore and Vietnam.

Sofyan Wanandi, a senior official in the office of Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, told Fairfax Media the finalisation of the free trade agreement was "very good news for both countries. Negotiations took a very long time, it had gone [for] more than five years".

"We [Indonesia] decided to open our education sector to foreign investment. So Australian universities can invest in Indonesia but they have to work together with Indonesian universities."

"It means we can improve the quality of our human resources. Also, Australian hospitals can enter Indonesia but limited only to specific services [such] as in chronic diseases."

"Also we agreed on annual quota for live cattle, beef and other Australian agricultural product like potatoes."

It’s understood the deal will allow, for the first time, Australian universities to set up campuses in Indonesia and retain a majority ownership of up to 67 per cent.

At present, the limit on foreign ownership of universities is 40 per cent.

For Indonesia, one of the main benefits will be most goods exported to Australia will have tariffs removed, including in the textile and garment sector.

"We couldn’t compete with Vietnam in the Australian market because Vietnam already has [an] FTA with Australia."

Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson said greater access for Australian universities to operate in Indonesia would deepen ties between the two countries.

"If Australian universities open campuses in Indonesia, this would make the possibility of an international, world-class education accessible to many more Indonesian citizens."