Deputy Foreign Minister Valeria Csukasi emphasized on Tuesday that Jakarta and Montevideo have a lot of interests in common, and the tie must be strengthened as the two countries seek to diversify their partnerships.

In the first high-level visit from Uruguay in decades, Csukasi began a two-day tour of Jakarta on Monday, meeting with officials from the foreign, trade, economic affairs and food ministries. The trip marked the launch of the inaugural round of bilateral consultations aimed at mapping out cooperation in food security, renewable energy and South-South partnership.

The talks, which Csukasi said were part of Uruguay’s larger foreign policy goal to engage more deeply with Southeast Asia, saw both countries identify priority sectors including food security, renewable energy, waste management and carbon credits, while also reaffirming their support for multilateral frameworks such as ASEAN.

“After two days of meetings, we now have a clear agenda ahead of us that hopefully would bring us [...] results that are very concrete for our people and for the development of our countries, [including] concerns related to food security that Indonesia has,”  Csukasi told reporters on Tuesday. 

“We would love to collaborate in programs like the meal program for schools and pregnant women. We have excellent dairy products and excellent beef that we are hoping could be of service to the programs that [President Prabowo] is trying to develop for the country,” she continued. 

Beef is among Uruguay’s most substantial industry, with the South American nation of just 3.5 million people raising around 12 million head of cattle - about three times its population. In 2024, Montevideo exported some 361,720 tons of beef to major markets including China, the United States and the European Union. 

Popular

BI surprises with third consecutive rate cut as Fed move looms

Explainer: Social media as town square, battleground in Indonesia’s protests

Taiwan raises alert over cancer-causing chemical in Indomie