"The Japanese government has requested that we immediately implement a free visa regulation for their people because Indonesian people enjoy the facility in Japan. Currently, we are processing the free visa regulation, and we promise them the service (free visa) in June," Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said here on Monday.
According to Kalla, the free visa regulation can increase bilateral cooperation, particularly in the trade and economic sectors.
The vice president met with a delegation from the Japanese parliament in his office in Jakarta to discuss further potential cooperation between the two countries.
During the discussion, the delegation urged the Indonesian government to implement visa duty exemption for their people.
"We also discussed ways to boost relations between Indonesia and Japan, particularly in the economic and trade sectors," Kalla noted.
The Japanese government has eliminated visa charges for Indonesian people who have electronic passports, or e-passports, which have been listed in the Japanese Embassy and the Consulate in Jakarta, Bali, Medan and Surabaya since December 2014.
The Japanese government provides free visa to Indonesians who visit the country for tourism purposes for 15 days.
The e-passport eases the identification process of citizens who visit the destination country and minimizes risks of falsification of passports.
(UU.B019/INE/B003)
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Editor: Suryanto
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