New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters visited the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta. The aim is to recall Indonesia’s enormous role in fostering a culture of tolerance.
According to him, Indonesia guides his country to cultivate values that can curb terrorism. In 2019, New Zealand was targeted by the group and he immediately asked Indonesia for help.
“We started with a visit to the largest mosque, the third largest mosque in the world, the largest mosque in Indonesia, with the aim of remembering the tragedy, the tragic terrorism that occurred from offshore sources in New Zealand, five years ago,” he said when giving a joint statement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office, Jakarta, Thursday (14/3).
According to him, cooperation between New Zealand and Indonesia is very good in many sectors, including socio-religious. Indonesia teaches New Zealand about the importance of tolerance.
He also admitted that he was happy to be able to visit Indonesia for the second time or after the tragedy in 2019. This visit also coincided with 100 days of his country’s new government.
Peters hopes that cooperation between the two countries can be even closer in various fields. On the same occasion, Retno said that communication and contact between Indonesia and New Zealand had increased significantly.
Also read: Santé International Company Spreads Marketing Wings in Indonesia
Vice President Maruf Amin visited New Zealand several weeks ago. Previously, President Jokowi and New Zealand Prime Minister Luxon held a bilateral meeting in Melbourne, Australia, last week on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Australia Summit.
Now, said Retno, it was Peters’ turn to visit Indonesia and discuss plans for a joint commission meeting in New Zealand in May this year. Such intensive communication and contact only occurs because Indonesia and New Zealand have good relations.
“We try to create good relations and try to build them based on mutual respect, including respect for the sovereignty and integrity of each region,” said Retno.
Also read: ASEAN Youth Unite in Bali through AYIC
During the meeting, Retno and Peters not only discussed bilateral issues but also regional and international issues, including how to strengthen collaboration in the Pacific region.
Regarding bilateral issues, the two also discussed plans to hold the 11th Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in Wellington, as mentioned, in May this year. “We are currently working on the substance of the JMC. We remember that at the last JMC in November 2021, the two Governments made a commitment to advance economic cooperation and development cooperation,” explained Retno.
Therefore, continued Retno, it is important to evaluate the scorecard and refresh the Plan of Action (PoA) to direct a comprehensive partnership towards these commitments.
Also read: ASEAN-South Korea Increase Cooperation to Fight Terrorism and Transnational Crime
Retno also appreciated PM Luxon’s planned visit to Indonesia which will invite New Zealand business people. It could stimulate more trade between the two countries.
Apart from increasing trade volume, Retno emphasized that trade between the two countries must be more balanced. Therefore, Indonesia is working to improve its agricultural products to meet New Zealand’s biosecurity requirements.
“We also discussed progress regarding the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on Halal Products. We have discussed New Zealand’s draft with the Indonesian Halal Product Guarantee Agency (BPJPH),” he said.
Also read: Laos Appointed to Chair the 18th AMMTC, Continue Strengthening ASEAN Security
There are still several pending problems, but Retno believes these problems will be resolved soon. Therefore, he suggested that the two teams continue consultations regarding this technical aspect.
Updating existing educational cooperation agreements could also be another potential achievement for JMC. During the discussion, Retno also discussed involvement in the Pacific with Peters.
“I emphasize Indonesia’s consistent approach to taking an active part in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity as part of the Pacific region,” he said.
Also read: ASEAN Strengthens Cooperation Against Terrorism
Both sides aim to do this by increasing engagement with regional organizations, particularly the MSG and PIF, as well as bilaterally through economic and development cooperation.
Indonesia shares the same views as New Zealand regarding shared challenges, such as climate change, disaster mitigation and women’s empowerment.
In this regard, senior officials of the two countries had begun exploring cooperation modalities last year in Wellington. Another important element discussed was strong cooperation with PIF.
Also read: New Zealand is an important partner for ASEAN to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific
As one of PIF’s dialogue partners, Indonesia hopes that at the PIF Summit next August in Tonga, PIF can continue its discussion regarding achieving the Forum’s priorities based on the principle of mutual respect, especially sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“I believe that this is important to encourage friendly and effective regional cooperation in maintaining peace and stability amidst geopolitical tensions and competition,” he explained.
Finally, Peters and Retno discussed the roles of the two countries in various regional and global issues. Both share a commitment to contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the region.
This also includes discussing collaboration in the ASEAN context. Indonesia hopes, said Retno, that it can work together with New Zealand in implementing the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) to foster inclusive cooperation in the region, including strengthening cooperation between ASEAN and PIF.
“We also discussed the situation in Palestine. Considering New Zealand’s track record on human rights issues, I am sure New Zealand also has similar concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Palestine,” he concluded. (Cah)
#Zealand #Foreign #Minister #Recalls #Indonesias #Role #Fostering #Culture #Tolerance