Meeting Duarte Pacheco, Indonesian Ambassador To Lisbon Conveys Indonesia's Readiness To Host The 144th IPU In Bali

The Indonesian Ambassador to Lisbon, Rudy Afonso made a courtesy call with the President of the International Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Duarte Pacheco at the Portuguese Parliament office/Doc of the Indonesian Ambassador to Lisbon

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ambassador to Lisbon, Rudy Afonso made a courtesy call with the President of the International Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Duarte Pacheco at the Portuguese Parliament office (Assembleia da República), on March 14, 2022.

In the courtesy call, the Indonesian Ambassador to Lisbon, Rudy Alfonso, conveyed the readiness of Indonesia and Bali to host the 144th IPU Assembly Meeting which will be held on 20–24 March 2022 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

The Indonesian Ambassador said that the Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, was present in Bali in person to ensure the readiness of the meeting.

In response to this, the President of IPU explained that he had communicated intensively with the Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives in preparation for the implementation of this big event, and expressed his appreciation to the Indonesian government for being willing to host it.

The IPU President explained that up to now there are 120 countries or delegates who will attend the 144th IPU meeting and the number is likely to increase. He had expressed his hope that the United States could join as a member of the IPU.

In addition to discussing the preparation and implementation of the IPU Assembly Meeting, Ambassador Rudy Alfonso and Mr. Duarte Pacheco also talked about the situation in Ukraine and hopes that peace can be achieved soon.

The meeting also discussed bilateral relations between Indonesia and Portugal, including the desire to reactivate the Grupo Parliamentar de Amizade Portugal–Indonesia (Indonesia–Portugal Friendship Group) and underlined the similarities between Portugal and Indonesia in the tourism sector.

The President of IPU said that during the pre-pandemic period, Portugal was visited by more than 24 million tourists every year. This figure is double that of Portugal's population of more than 10 million people.

But after the pandemic, foreign tourists visiting Portugal only reached 2 million people. Responding to this, the Indonesian Ambassador explained that the momentum of the IPU meeting in Bali was welcomed by the government and the Balinese people because it would help restore the tourism sector and the Balinese economy.

Mr. Duarte Pacheco, who was elected President of the IPU in November 2020, is expected to arrive in Bali on March 16, 2022. There are 5 members of the Portuguese Parliament and 2 translators who will attend the IPU meeting in Bali. This is the official statement to VOI, Wednesday, March 16.