Retno, Indonesian Foreign Minister, Pays Courtesy Call... Bilateral Talks with Desra, Director General of Asia-Pacific and Africa
Meeting with Indonesian Businesspeople to Discuss Support Measures for Corporate Activities
Lim Jokhoi, ASEAN Secretary-General, Pays Virtual Courtesy Call
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Kim Geon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has been conducting face-to-face diplomacy targeting ASEAN countries, visited Indonesia following his visit to Singapore and held consultations on strengthening Korea-Indonesia and Korea-ASEAN cooperation from the 28th to the 29th.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister Kim's schedule included ▲a courtesy call on Retno Marsudi, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs ▲a meeting with Desra Percaya, Director General for Asia-Pacific and Africa at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ▲a visit to the New Southern Business Center ▲and a meeting with Korean businesspeople operating in Indonesia. During the courtesy call with Minister Retno, they discussed ways to activate high-level exchanges and strategic communication between the two countries and strengthen cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.
Minister Retno stated that despite the COVID-19 situation, high-level exchanges have been activated recently, such as the visit of the Indonesian Minister of State-Owned Enterprises and the Head of the Investment Coordinating Board to Korea following the implementation of the fast-track system, and Deputy Minister Kim's visit to Indonesia. She expressed hope that economic cooperation, including the expansion of Korean companies' investment in Indonesia, will continue to strengthen. Deputy Minister Kim conveyed Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's invitation to Minister Retno to visit Korea, to which Minister Retno expressed gratitude and looked forward to visiting Korea in the near future. Both sides also agreed to discuss holding the 2nd Young Leaders Dialogue event utilizing opportunities such as foreign ministers' visits.
Minister Retno also mentioned that the foreign ministers of both countries maintain close communication through frequent telephone consultations and recently had a productive conversation with Minister Kang regarding the WTO Secretary-General election, stating that Indonesia will review its position considering Korea's explanation.
Deputy Minister Kim requested Indonesia's interest and support for the 2nd P4G Summit and the 4th UN Peacekeeping Ministers' Meeting, both scheduled to be held in Korea in the first half of next year, as well as for the activities of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). Furthermore, both sides agreed on the necessity to deepen strategic communication and cooperation between the two countries in the fields of defense, security, and defense industry, and decided to promote the 1st high-level foreign and defense (2+2) consultations either face-to-face or via video conference at an appropriate time within the year, considering the COVID-19 situation.
◆Deputy Minister Kim discusses health cooperation with Director General Desra= Both sides exchanged views on major regional issues such as the government's initiative to strengthen cooperation in the Korea-Maritime Southeast Asia sub-region and negotiations on the Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea. Prior to this courtesy call, Deputy Minister Kim met with Director General Desra Percaya to discuss these matters in detail and also discussed cooperation to strengthen economic recovery and health cooperation between the two countries in the post-COVID-19 era.
Director General Desra evaluated that despite the COVID-19 crisis, the relationship between the two countries as special strategic partners has become stronger through quarantine cooperation and the implementation of fast-track systems for essential personnel. She expressed gratitude for Korea's support for Indonesia's COVID-19 response through joint production of quarantine supplies and humanitarian aid.
Both sides agreed to work together to expand the fast-track system for essential personnel movement to a multilateral level and to strengthen post-COVID-19 economic recovery cooperation, including efforts for the early implementation of the Korea-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and expansion of Korea-Indonesia investment cooperation. In particular, Deputy Minister Kim requested Indonesia's continued interest and support in improving the business environment and institutional support measures for Korean companies operating locally to ensure that successful investment cooperation cases between the two countries continue to expand.
Both sides agreed to actively participate in international cooperation to promote vaccine multilateralism, expressing expectations for the role of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), which envisions the development and distribution of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines. They also discussed institutionalizing cooperation between the two countries for disease prevention and response.
◆Korean Businesspeople Meeting, Discussing Support Measures for Corporate Activities= Deputy Minister Kim held a meeting with Korean businesspeople operating in Indonesia to listen to their difficulties amid the COVID-19 situation and discuss support measures for corporate activities.
Deputy Minister Kim and the participants shared the difficulties faced by the Korean community's economic activities under the COVID-19 situation and agreed on the need for close public-private cooperation to respond to these challenges.
Following this, Deputy Minister Kim visited the New Southern Business Cooperation Center located in Jakarta and requested the center to actively provide customized support based on a deep understanding of local conditions to help Korean companies enter the New Southern region through its future activities.
Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN, paid a courtesy call via video conference. Secretary-General Lim expressed gratitude for Korea's proactive and active participation in ASEAN's efforts to overcome COVID-19, particularly appreciating ASEAN's ▲COVID-19 response fund ▲capacity-building projects for COVID-19 response, as well as initiatives such as the establishment of the Korea-ASEAN Health Ministers' Meeting.
Secretary-General Lim also expressed appreciation for the substantial cooperation continuing in various fields led by the Korean Mission to ASEAN, including ▲vocational education and training ▲ASEAN scholarship support ▲disaster management expert development. In response, Deputy Minister Kim explained that ASEAN countries are managing the COVID-19 situation well while actively promoting economic recovery, and Korea's New Southern Policy will also be further developed to overcome COVID-19 and achieve inclusive and mutually prosperous growth between Korea and ASEAN. He requested ASEAN's interest and support for the smooth movement of essential personnel between Korea and ASEAN and for Korea's candidate for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretary-General.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Kim held meetings with Ambassador Tran Duc Binh of the Vietnamese Mission, the ASEAN Chair country this year, and Ambassador Hairani Taujiddin of the Brunei Mission, the Korea-ASEAN Dialogue Coordinator.
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