Indonesian Foreign Minister Invites Costa Rica To Establish Close Relations With ASEAN

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (right) held a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Costa Rica Arnoldo Andre Tinoco (left) on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA, on Friday (22/9/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Kemlu RI)

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi invited Costa Rica to access the ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation Treaty (TAC), as the first step in establishing a relationship with the regional organization.

He made this statement during a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Costa Rica Arnoldo Andre Tinoco on the sidelines of the 78th Assembly of the United Nations in New York, on Friday (22/9), in response to Costa Rica's interest in increasing relations (engagement) with ASEAN.

During the meeting, the two Foreign Ministers also discussed strengthening bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation.

For bilateral cooperation, Foreign Minister Retno and Foreign Minister Tinoco discussed various efforts to increase cooperation in the fields of the creative economy, disaster management, and renewable energy.

The two foreign ministers agreed to encourage the ratification of the framework for the cooperation cooperation agreement between Indonesia and Costa Rica that had been previously agreed upon.

Foreign Minister Tinoco conveyed an invitation and expected Indonesia's participation in the UN Sea Conference which will be held in June 2024 in Costa Rica.

Regarding multilateral cooperation, the two Foreign Ministers discussed the submission of Indonesian membership to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the UN Human Rights Council.

As the host with the OECD annual conference in 2025, Foreign Minister Tinoco expressed Costa Rica's support for Indonesia's membership plan at OECD.