JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi together with Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto held the seventh 2+2 Meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton, Thursday 9 September.
In her statement after the 2+2 Meeting, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she welcomed the growing strength of the partnership between Indonesia and Australia, including during difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering that Australia is Indonesia's strategic partner.
"I would like to express Indonesia's appreciation to Australia for its continued support during the COVID-19 pandemic, where Australia sent 1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, 1,000 ventilators, 700 oxygen concentrators, 170 oxygen cylinders, rapid antigen test kits and other medical equipment," he said. Foreign Minister Retno in her virtual press statement.
Foreign Minister Retno further explained that there were a number of things discussed during this 2+2 Meeting. For example, the focus of bilateral relations between the two countries is focusing on accelerating economic recovery by maximizing the benefits of the IA-CEPA, to strengthen trade and investment cooperation between Indonesia and Australia.
"I am very pleased to observe that bilateral trade increased significantly in the first half of 2021, soaring from 3.52 billion US dollars in the same period last year, to 5.83 billion US dollars this year," said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
"We also see promising new Australian investment projects in Indonesia, including in the energy sector as exemplified by the Fortescue Metal Group in Papua and Kalimantan," continued Foreign Minister Retno.
Regarding regional conditions, in this meeting Indonesia and Australia are committed to being part of efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region. He said that the meeting discussed the potential for a concrete cooperation program to implement the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo Pacific.
"Regarding the situation in Myanmar, Indonesia and Australia are committed to contributing humanitarian aid to the people of Myanmar. With ASEAN currently on hold to deliver the first wave of humanitarian aid," said Foreign Minister Retno who gave a statement with Prabowo Subianto, Marise Payne and Peter Dutton.
"Safety and security are very important in ensuring the successful delivery of humanitarian aid. We underlined the importance of implementing the Five Consensus Points. Indonesia's position is clear, access to meet all stakeholders in Myanmar is very important for the ASEAN Special Envoy to start his work," he said, adding Indonesia's stance the situation in Afghanistan was also discussed.
On this occasion, Indonesia and Australia signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), including the MoU on Trilateral Cooperation with the Pacific, the MoU on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, the MoU on Cyber Cooperation and Emerging Cyber Technology and the Defense Cooperation Arrangement which was signed by the two Ministers of Defence.
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