Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held a 25-minute-long telephonic conversation with her Japanese counterpart Motegi Toshimitsu on Monday to exchange views on the latest developments in the COVID-19 outbreak.

The two foreign ministers agreed to continue to forge close cooperation between both nations to contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta noted in a written statement released on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu highlighted the sheer significance of cooperation among members of the international community to thwart the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the statement.

The Japanese government has decided to contribute 1.5 billion yen (approximately Rp223.9 billion) through the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to countries affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

In response, Foreign Minister Marsudi expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for the assistance.

On her Twitter account, Foreign Minister Marsudi also highly lauded the Japanese government for its cooperation in evacuating tens of Indonesian crew members aboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner.

The Indonesian crew members were quarantined for 14 days on Sebaru Island, Thousand Islands, off North Jakarta's coast, after being evacuated on March 1, 2020.

"The Indonesian crew members have fully recovered and are confirmed negative for the presence of COVID-19," she remarked.



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Translator: Yashinta Difa Pramudyani/Suhar
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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