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Indonesia, Singapore set up Bintan leaders meeting as concerns over Myanmar swirl
Indonesia and Singapore's top diplomats met on Thursday to prepare a meeting to discuss harrowing developments in Myanmar as civil unrest and military violence continue to simmer after coup.
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Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) speaks during a joint press statement as Indonesia's top diplomat Retno Marsudi looks on. (Courtesy of/Foreign Ministry)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong could meet in Bintan for this year’s annual retreat, their top diplomats revealed, as the two sides seek a “gradual and safe reopening of travel arrangements” in the midst of the pandemic as well as other harrowing developments in the region.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakhrisnan met in Jakarta on Thursday to discuss plans for the high-level talks, along with other bilateral and regional issues, including the ongoing military crackdown in Myanmar, whose civilian government was toppled in a widely derided putsch nearly two months ago.
Balakrishnan is in Indonesia until Friday as part of a series of visits to neighboring countries this week that included stopovers in Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia.
During their meeting, the two ministers discussed increased COVID-19 cooperation, with Retno briefing Balakrishnan that Indonesia had inoculated over 9 million people and at one point reached 500,000 jabs per day.
“Whilst continuing to follow closely developments with the pandemic, we note the communications on the possibility to have a pilot project on the reopening of our borders for tourism purposes in a safe, gradual and cautious manner,” Retno said in a joint press statement after the meeting.
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The travel bubble plan, which Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno previously proposed to Singapore, was discussed more extensively with Balakrishnan during a visit to the former’s official residence in Jakarta earlier on Thursday.
