Indonesia was represented by the Head of the National Counter terrorism Agency (BNPT), Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius, while the US was represented by the Counter-terrorism Coordinator of the Foreign Ministry, Nathan A. Sales.
The signing of the MoU was witnessed by representatives of relevant Indonesian institutions, which are engaged in counter terrorism, including the Coordinating Ministry for Politics and Security, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the National Police, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), and the Attorney General`s Office.
The Head of the BNPT said the signing of the MoU was a mark of cooperation in combating terrorism between the two countries.
"This is also the momentum for the initiation of more concrete and practical cooperation which is expected to solve the challenges of counter terrorism, not only for the two countries, but also for the whole world," Alius said.
In the future, he continued, this MoU is expected to be a law for counter terrorism cooperation among relevant ministries and institutions to exchange information, experiences and practices, as well as to improve human resource capacity.
He said the MoU was very important in combating terrorism in both countries, as there are a large number of Indonesians who travel to the US and vice versa.
"We will continue to exchange information and keep communicating so that the two countries can anticipate terrorism actions," Alius said.
It is expected that in the future, both countries will be free from terrorism. Thus, in addition to maintaining safe and secure conditions, the MoU is also very beneficial to both countries.
"If the country is safe, foreign investment will be greater, as well as the tourism sector, as a lot of foreign tourists will be attracted to the countries," he said.
Meanwhile, Sales pointed out that the MoU would be very beneficial to both countries in combating terrorism. Moreover, the two countries have been subjected to terrorism terrors and threats, especially from the ISIS group.
"We will be solid partners in combating terrorism because Indonesia and the US have experience in dealing with terrorism," Sales said.
According to him, the MoU will be useful in detecting all terrorism movement. By exchanging information, terrorism funding can be detected and the data of terrorist suspects can be traced.
Editing by Libertina W Ambari
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
