Jakarta, May 31- The Indonesian newspaper "Indonews" published an article announcing the celebration, in Havana, of the Cuba-Indonesia Inter-Ministerial Political Consultations Meeting.
Chaired by the director general of Bilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, Hon. Mr. Emilio Lozada García, and the director general of American and European Affairs of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, H.E. Mr. Ngurah Swajaya, the text indicates that both parties exchanged on issues associated to the bilateral, regional and global agenda.
In positively assessing the state of the historical and fraternal bilateral relations, both parties exchanged on the need to give continuity to several unfinished cooperation projects, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, including actions to increase trade and investment. Likewise, they addressed the current Pro Tempore Presidency of Indonesia in the G20, as well as the mutual agreement in international forums, in defense of multilateralism and the principles of International Law and the Charter of the United Nations.
The text states that the cuban director general, Emilio Lozada García, highlighted bilateral cooperation throughout the 62 years of relations, while emphasizing the success of the Pro Tempore Presidency of Indonesia in the G20 to promote concrete results of cooperation, especially beneficial for developing countries. He also thanked the Asian nation for supporting Cuba's accession to the ASEAN Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (TAC), to channel practical alliance with the bloc in key areas, such as health, biotechnology and pharmacy. The text also alludes to the establishment in Havana of the ASEAN-Cuba Committee, of which Indonesia will be its President during the period July - December 2022.
The article also announced that both parties agreed to have a roadmap for practical cooperation, which includes four main elements, namely: greater cooperation in the field of trade and investment; in health, pharmacy and biotechnology; in agriculture and the adoption of bilateral consultation mechanism agreements.
The text also states that, at the conclusion of the meeting, took place and official act of exchanging of Visa Exemption Agreements, signed by both Foreign Ministers, with the purpose of facilitating dialogue and exchange in both directions.
The director general of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Ngurah Swajaya, expressed that with the results achieved in the bilateral consultations and the ease of visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, official and service passports, both countries have the opportunity to cooperate more closely, open and wide.
The Indonesian delegation also had the opportunity to meet with the Cuban deputy ministers, Ambassador Mrs. Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo of Foreign Affairs, and Mrs. Déborah Rivas from the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Investment, as well as with officials from the state enterprise, BioCubaFarma.
The article concludes by highlighting that, apart from the bilateral consultations, Director General Ngurah stated: "In the economic field, the relationship between the two countries is very good. In terms of trade volume, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid increase of over 140% in 2021." He noted that there is currently an Indonesian company that has invested in hotel management in Cuba, considering it as: "This is a good start. It is hoped that in the future we will achieve more concrete projects that strengthen relations between the two countries."
Embassy of Cuba in Indonesia.