Residents and their families will travel again to visit halal tourism attractions after not having visited for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Azerbaijan agreed to increase cooperation in the trade and halal tourism industry in future, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry stated.

The ministry made the statement following a meeting between Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin and Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Indonesia Jalal Mriyazev here, Tuesday.

"I think one aspect that Ambassador Jalal and Mr. Vice President mutually agreed upon was an increase in trade as well as cooperation in the halal tourism industry, and, of course, halal products from Indonesia could enter Azerbaijan," the ministry's Director of South and Central Asia Jatmiko Prasetyo, who had accompanied Amin during the meeting, stated.

Prasetyo noted that discussions at the meeting also centered on bilateral relations between the two countries, which has been going smoothly so far.

Ambassador Mriyazev expressed gratitude to the vice president for Indonesia's support in various international forums as well as in the framework of bilateral relations.

"Specifically, Ambassador Jalal also spoke about 30 years of diplomatic relations, which will be celebrated in 2022, and conveyed a request to be a momentum for the two countries to further enhance bilateral relations, especially through exchange of visits and improvement of bilateral mechanisms," he stated.

The vice president expressed hope that Ambassador Mriyazev would fully cooperate to increase trade in non-oil and gas products between Indonesia and Azerbaijan in future, so that the national trade balance could be more balanced, and the trade system would be higher in the future, the statement noted.

In the meantime, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin recently expressed optimism about the halal tourism sector in Indonesia recovering and reinvigorating following a decline in cases of COVID-19.

"Residents and their families will travel again to visit halal tourism attractions after not having visited for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Amin stated in his opening remarks for the International Halal Congress in Bangka Belitung on June 15, 2022.

As Indonesia must optimize available opportunities to bolster tourism recovery, he cautioned that vigilance against an uptick in COVID-19 cases remains necessary.

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Translator: Fardah Assegaf
Editor: Sri Haryati
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