Jakarta. Indonesia and Australia have agreed to enhance defense cooperation versus terrorism and violent extremism and mulled joint military workouts in the future.
In a ministerial conference in Jakarta on Thursday, the 2 neighbors also talked about bilateral relations with special mention on trade, Covid-19 reaction, regional problems with highlights on Indonesia’s management in ASEAN and the hot subject of Afghanistan with the discussion of human rights concerns.
The seventh “2 2 meeting” was participated in by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Australian equivalent Marise Payne and both nations’ defense ministers Prabowo Subianto and Peter Dutton.
Three Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) were achieved at the meeting drawing on cyber cooperation and emerging cyber technology, countering terrorism and violent extremism, and plan on defense cooperation.
” Our conversation among others concentrates on effort to accelerate financial healing, specifically on optimizing the benefit of Indonesia Australia-CEPA as a crucial tool to strengthen trade and investment cooperation in between Indonesia and Australia,” Retno stated quickly after the meeting.
” I’m also convinced that the MoU on trilateral cooperation with Pacific countries, which Foreign Minister Payne and I signed today, supplies a platform for a greater contribution to the region’s economic and human development,” she included.
Prabowo stated there was a discussion on Australia’s assistance and participation in peacekeeping operations and the possibility to improve defense cooperation through signed up with basic training.
” We have excellent experience in the past and even up to now the relationship is really strong. And recently, Minister Dutton and myself have actually signed the Defence Cooperation Plan Renewal which will be a very essential umbrella document for an extensive defense cooperation in the future,” Prabowo stated.
” We have actually agreed to work hard to update this plan to end up being a contract with a stronger umbrella for defence cooperation in the structure of a Strategic Comprehensive Partnership.”
Minister Marise Payne stated Australia stayed important to foster engagement and cooperation, Covid 19 healing and disaster risk management in Indonesia and the Indo-Pacific in her closing remark.
” As friends and neighbours, as Comprehensive Strategic Partners, Australia is committed to working with Indonesia in conquering the shared difficulties of Covid-19 throughout the Indo-Pacific region that we share,” she said.
Payne then attended to the worldwide pandemic and how it has changed the Indonesia-Australia relationship.
” As we’ve talked about the impact of Covid-19 in the Indo-Pacific, and on both our countries, and how we can chart a path forward cooperatively to the financial healing duration for which we are both really optimistic,” she stated.
” That consists of through our partnership, the sharing of 1 million AstraZeneca doses with Indonesia, following the delivery of a 2nd 500,000 doses the other day.”
Payne likewise reaffirmed the strong ties between Indonesia and Australia.
” Throughout President Widodo’s see to Australia in February 2020, our leaders reflected on the strong progress we had made under this partnership. We especially share a dedication to gender equality. We acknowledge that women’s decision-making and management is vital to effective Covid-19 action and recovery efforts,” she said.
