To Switzerland, Retno Marsudi And Erick Thohir Discussed A Number Of Agreements

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister (Menlu) Retno Marsudi and BUMN Minister Erick Thohir concluded their diplomatic trip in Bern and Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, October 16. This visit was carried out to complete bilateral and multilateral cooperation related to health and economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign Minister Retno explained that the series of trips with Erick Thohir were filled with a number of discussions related to health, economy, education, and improving labor welfare.

As a result, at the bilateral level, Indonesia and Switzerland will strive to strengthen their commitment to work together with the principle of mutual respect.

"Switzerland is Indonesia's fourth largest partner in Europe. The trade value between the two countries is 2.1 billion US dollars," the Foreign Minister said as quoted in his written statement, Friday, October 16.

Meanwhile at the mutilateral level, Indonesia is an important part of the global community in efforts to restore health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, during the visit Retno and Erick met with the vice president of Switzerland and business leaders in the country. In addition, the Foreign Minister and the Minister of BUMN also held a meeting with the Director General of WHO and the CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) and representatives of Unicef.

"This trip is an effort to safeguard commitments related to the availability of vaccines both within the framework of bilateral and multilateral cooperation," he said.

In line with Retno, BUMN Minister Erick Thohir said the meeting with Switzerland would further strengthen strategic cooperation in the economic and health sectors.

From a number of meetings, Erick also conveyed a commitment to cooperation between state-owned companies, namely between PT KAI and world train production company Stadler Rail.

"After yesterday in the UK Bio Farma was recognized as a world class company by CEPI. Now in Switzerland, PT KAI is collaborating with Stedler. This is in order to emphasize KAI's position as a 'player' at the regional level," said Erick.

The two companies, he continued, will work together in producing a series of trains. Not only in Indonesia but also in the Asia-Oceania region.

"Stadler also stated that he will build its regional headquarters for the Asia and Oceania region in Indonesia. This is a form of trust and appreciation," he said.

With this kind of cooperation, the former INASGOC chairman is optimistic that more and more SOEs will spread their wings to the global stage.

In addition to the business agreement, Erick said his and the Foreign Minister's trip to a number of countries including Switzerland was in an effort to ensure cooperation in handling COVID-19, especially in ensuring the availability of vaccines for the people.

"The series of trips to England and Switzerland are very good. It is important for Indonesia to continue to be a part of the world in dealing with COVID-19. Everything is our part to ensure security for the Indonesian people," he concluded.