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Jakarta Post

Uruguay to open embassy, strengthen trans-Pacific ties

Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, October 12, 2016

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Uruguay to open embassy, strengthen trans-Pacific ties Closer cooperation: Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (left) welcomes her Uruguayan countrpart Rodolfo Nin Novoa at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta on Tuesday. Novoa revealed plans to open a Uruguayan embassy in Jakarta by next year and discussed efforts to improve bilateral ties. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)

U

ruguay announced on Tuesday that it will be opening an embassy in Indonesia next year, with an eye toward expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation in Southeast Asia.

The plan was revealed during talks between Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her Uruguayan counterpart Rodolfo Nin Novoa, who is visiting Jakarta with an entourage of business leaders to attend the 2016 Indonesian Trade Expo (TEI), which opens Wednesday.

Retno warmly received the move by pointing out the significance of Novoa’s visit: It was the first visit by an Uruguayan foreign minister in 51 years of diplomatic relations.

“This is a historic visit that sends a very positive message about the bilateral relations of the two countries,” Retno told a press conference.

The exact timeframe for the embassy opening remains unclear, but Novoa said he was eager to follow up on this in discussions with Retno in 2017.

“[Our hope is] that we will be able to meet next year for political consultations, which we will initiate through a video conference before following through on the agreements reached behind closed doors,” he told reporters.

A number of issues were raised during the talks, including education, citizen protection, peacekeeping and political support on the international stage.

On the issue of citizen protection, Retno said Indonesia and Uruguay agreed to expedite the finalization of a mandatory consular notification treaty, particularly for Indonesian sailors working on foreign vessels in and around Uruguay.

Both countries have also agreed to support each other in their respective campaigns to join the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Uruguay proposed in July 2008 its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UNSC, for the period of 2016 to 2017. If elected, it would be returning to the Security Council 50 years after its first and only term on the body.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is vying for a non-permanent seat on the council for the 2019 to 2020 period.

With regard to the business delegation accompanying Novoa, Retno said she considered it a reciprocal gesture for the participation of Indonesian SMEs at Expo Prado, the Uruguayan equivalent of the TEI, since 2008.

“I therefore strongly encourage collaboration between the two countries’ private sectors to enhance economic cooperation,” she said.

After their closed-door meeting, the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bolster economic and technical cooperation between their countries, which they did not elaborate on further.

Novoa said Uruguay also expects the opening of its embassy in Jakarta to bolster cooperation between regional organizations, particularly between ASEAN and Mercosur, Latin America’s premier economic bloc.

With the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta and Mercosur headquartered in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, Novoa expressed optimism that both regional blocs could work better together.

“We think that Mercosur and ASEAN would be able to cooperate well. Mercosur can meet the demand for food in ASEAN and further enhance living standards in the region,” he said.

Later in the day, Novoa witnessed the signing of another MoU by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Roslan Roeslani and the president of the Mercosur-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce (MACC), Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer, to strengthen economic and trade cooperation.

Acknowledging one of the largest hindrances for Mercosur-ASEAN cooperation — distance — Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said the move to strengthen intercontinental ties is worth exploring.

“We will continue to encourage the expansion of trade relations — Uruguay has shown its goodwill by initiating Mercosur-ASEAN cooperation in the business-to-business context,” Arrmanatha said.

Mercosur’s five full members, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela, have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of roughly US$2.8 trillion, making it one of the world’s largest blocs. About 250 million of the bloc’s approximately 292 million inhabitants live in Argentina and Brazil.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said that 45 percent of ASEAN’s GDP comes from Indonesia and more than a quarter of the total population of ASEAN were Indonesians. ASEAN’s 500 million population has a combined GDP of $2.6 trillion.

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