"I cannot comment on what Brazil (President Rousseff) has said, but the important thing is that we refer to a country that shares bilateral relations with us as an important and friendly state," Nasir stated here on Thursday.
Earlier, in a statement quoted by the foreign media, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said its bilateral trade with Indonesia was insignificant as it was only US$4 billion, or less than 1 percent of its total external trade amounting to $454 billion last year.
Thus, Rousseff implied that the recall of Indonesian Ambassador-designate Toto Royanto after being humiliated by the sudden postponement of his credential letter presentation on Feb. 20, by any means, did not bear significance for Brazil.
Indonesian Ambassador-designate to Brazil Toto Riyanto had been officially invited by the Brazilian government to present his credential letter to President Dilma Rousseff on Friday (February 20).
However, when he arrived at the presidential palace after being received following an official protocol, he was notified that the ceremony was postponed.
The Indonesian government believes that this incident is related to the plan to execute the death penalty granted to Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian national who was convicted in 2005 after being arrested for smuggling 6 kilograms of cocaine concealed inside his surfboard.
Nasir said Indonesia did not want to speculate about the future of bilateral relations with Brazil, adding that it will continue to monitor and evaluate the current situation.
"Moreover, one of Presidents (Joko Widodos) instructions is to stop burning this issue. At the same time, we will adopt any measures related to the current condition," he noted.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had called Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi and Ambassador Toto Riyanto to report about the Brazil incident at the Merdeka State Palace on Tuesday (Feb. 24).
President Jokowi emphasized that the death penalty was in accordance with the law in Indonesia as it is a sovereign state, and the legal process regarding drug convicts on death row had been regulated.
(T.A060/A/KR-BSR/O001)
Reporter: Azi Fitriyanti
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
