As countries that share many commonalities, it is essential for us to discuss the regional situation
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi held a trilateral meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Australia, Penny Wong, and the External Affairs Minister of India, S. Jaishankar, on Wednesday to discuss the regional situation.

"As countries that share many commonalities, it is essential for us to discuss the regional situation," Marsudi told the press after the meeting at the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here on Wednesday.

She noted that it was not the first such meeting between the three ministers. The three had participated in a trilateral meeting in September last year on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Marsudi said that Indonesia, Australia, and India share many commonalities. The three countries are democratic countries and have also become positive forces in respecting international laws and maintaining peace and stability.

The minister lauded Australia and India's support for ASEAN centrality and the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

She further said that she is looking forward to the active participation of the two countries in the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Infrastructure Forum, which is scheduled to be held in September on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit this year.

Australia is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), while all three countries are members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

"I already received strong support from my colleagues, the ASEAN foreign ministers, on the Secretariat-to-Secretariat cooperation between ASEAN-PIF and ASEAN-IORA," the minister said.

This, she highlighted, is another contribution of Indonesia toward making the Indo-Pacific a region of peace and prosperity and engaging partners inclusively.

Marsudi expressed the hope that the three ministers would identify concrete ideas to improve economic, maritime, and food security cooperation.

The trilateral meeting was part of a series of events organized under the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) with dialogue partner countries.

Apart from Australia and India, the other ASEAN dialogue partners include China, Russia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.

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Translator: Katriana, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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