The two countries discussed efforts to increase bilateral cooperation at the Sixth Session of the Intergovernmental Indonesian-Belarus Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which will be held on Oct 17 and Oct 18 in Jakarta.
"This is a very important bilateral mechanism that we have, in addition to bilateral political consultation. Of course, your presence here signifies your commitment. Our meeting here is certainly a reflection of our shared commitment to enhance bilateral relations as well as to expand and deepen our bilateral cooperation," Director General of American and European Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Muhammad Anshor said 9630 during the session, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
He stated that the meeting would explore new creative ways to improve relations and cooperation between Indonesia and Belarus to a high level.
"This meeting provides us a good opportunity to reflect to where we are now and the progress that we have achieved in our bilateral relations," he noted.
In addition to finding new ways of enhancing cooperation between the two countries, Anshor remarked that the meeting will also explore any challenges faced in enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation.
"Of course, we can identify if there are any challenges or obstacles for our bilateral engagement and how we find the solution to address the challenges for our better cooperation," he added.
He revealed that the interests of Indonesia and Belarus involved many areas, including trade and economy.
According to information from the official website of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Indonesia, the volume of trade between the two countries increased from $1.8 million in 1995 to 193.7 million in 2015.
Belarus exports potassium, caprolactam, tires, and polyamide to Indonesia, while Indonesia exports natural rubber, processed fish products, fiber optic, palm oil and coconut, medicines, paper, tobacco, dyestuff, printer, tin, furniture, cocoa, shoes, and others to Belarus. Indonesias exports to Belarus include about 200 commodity items.
The Session of the Intergovernmental Indonesian-Belarus Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was established with the first hearing of the commission in February 2008.
The chairmen of the commission are the Director General of the American and European Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and Deputy Minister of the Republic of Belarus. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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