"Indonesia has the commitment to increasing its presence in the Middle East," Retno said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will continue to increase its presence in the Middle East, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has told her Bahrain counterpart, Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa.
"Indonesia has the commitment to increasing its presence in the Middle East," Retno said during a bilateral meeting with Al-Khalifa, after attending the just-concluded summit of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The foreign ministers statement was contained in a press release from the Foreign Affairs Ministry made available here on Wednesday.
One of the main topics the two ministers discussed before Retno Marsudi returned to Indonesia was the increase in cooperation among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Further, Minister Retno asked Minister Ahmed Al-Khalifa to help strengthen cooperation between Indonesia and the GCC, and between the GCC and ASEAN.
Also, Minister Ahmed Al-Khalifa invited Minister Retno to attend the GCC ministerial meeting and the Manama dialog this year.
Additionally, the Indonesian foreign minister noted the cooperation of mutual support for the nomination of Indonesia as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2019-2020 period.
Further, Minister Retno held a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The two ministers discussed various strategic issues of mutual concern.
The ministers also discussed plans for Indonesian President Joko Widodo to visit Iran at the end of 2016.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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