On 9 February 2023, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Indonesia held their second political consultations in Djakarta.
The Head of the Bilateral Relations Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Nils Jansons, and the Director General for American and European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Umar Hadi, discussed bilateral cooperation, including in the economic sector. The officials were in agreement that the bilateral legal framework should be expanded in order to open up new opportunities to businesses and society in the two countries.
The participants of the consultations then exchanged views on cooperation between the European Union and Indonesia and the course of negotiations for the EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement under way in Jakarta. An exchange was also held on global and regional challenges – Russia’s war against Ukraine, and security issues concerning the Indo-Pacific region. Nils Jansons welcomed Indonesia’s support for the UN General Assembly resolutions on the matters of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and he underlined that not only was the Russian aggression against Ukraine a threat to Europe’s security, it also undermined the principles and rules based international order.
In a discussion on Indonesia’s plans for its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year and on the strategic partnership between the EU and ASEAN, the officials underlined their mutual intention to build closer cooperation so as to be more successful in overcoming the economic and security-related challenges.
During their visit, the Latvian delegation met with the heads of the Delegation of the EU to Indonesia and of the EU’s representation to ASEAN, the Latvian Honorary Consuls in Jakarta, Ayub Junus, and in West Jawa, Jahja Sanotso, and representatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, as well as taking part in a discussion organised by the School of Strategic and Global Studies on the current geopolitical and security situation in the Baltic Sea region.
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia