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Free-visa policy not compromising security: Jokowi
Foreign visitors wait at a visa-on-arrival payment counter at an airport
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Foreign visitors wait at a visa-on-arrival payment counter at an airport. (Antara/Nyoman Budhiana) (Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)
Foreign visitors wait at a visa-on-arrival payment counter at an airport. (Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has said that the government's free-visa policy, soon to be enjoyed by citizens of 174 countries, has not compromised the security or stability of the country.
'I am not afraid of including more countries in the policy. Look at Malaysia and Singapore-more than 170 countries are included in their visa-free policy and they are still safe,' he said in his remarks during the 2016 opening bell ceremony at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in Jakarta on Monday.
As for state security, Jokowi believed that the National Police were up to the task of maintaining it. 'Of course I am sure they can provide good security in the implementation of the policy,' he said.
After recording a foreign tourist arrival increase of 19 percent year-on-year following the introduction of the policy for 47 nationalities in October, the government added 84 countries to the list of countries that would enjoy the facility in December last year.
Among those 84 countries are Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Andorra, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras.
Next, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, North Korea, Nicaragua, Palestine, Palau, Pakistan, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Somalia, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga.
And, Trinidad Tobago, Saint Kitts and Navis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia Montenegro, Sierra Leone. Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Swiss, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
There were previously 95 countries listed under the policy, but Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli rejected 11 of them, including Israel. (ags)(+)
