Japan-Indonesia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (First Ministerial-Level Strategic Dialogue)

February 18, 2011
Japanese

Japan-Indonesia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting(Photo)

On Friday, February 18, Mr. Seiji Maehara, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a meeting and dinner at Iikura House with H.E. Dr. Marty Natalegawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, on his visit to Japan as a distinguished MOFA guest, which served as the first ministerial-level strategic dialogue. The overview of the meeting is as follows.

Introduction
Minister Maehara expressed his appreciation for Indonesia’s efforts as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to mediate between Thailand and Cambodia in their border dispute, and stated that he was happy to welcome Foreign Minister Marty to Japan at this timing to hold the first ministerial-level strategic dialogue. In response, Foreign Minister Marty expressed his gratitude for the invitation to Japan, and explained Indonesia’s efforts on the Egyptian situation and the Thai-Cambodian border dispute.
Bilateral Relations
Minister Maehara said that he would like to use this year to elevate the bilateral relationship to a higher level, referring to reinforcing of dialogues at all levels including summit-level talks, ministerial-level strategic dialogue and ministerial-level economic dialogue, cooperation in the field of security such as maritime security and disaster relief, and strengthening of cooperation in the area of economy including infrastructure development such as the promotion of the Metropolitan Priority Area (MPA), in order to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. He also expressed his eagerness to see the two countries cooperate toward the improvement of the condition to accept Indonesian nurse and care worker candidates to Japan, based on the Japan-Indonesian Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). In response, Foreign Minister Marty noted the importance of the bilateral relationship, in particular the early realization of summit-level talks, and said that he was looking forward to Prime Minister Kan’s visit to Indonesia, as good as President Yudhoyono’s visit to Japan. He also said that this ministerial-level strategic dialogue was useful in further strengthening the bilateral relationship, and that he would like to continue exchanging views on a frequent basis in order to strengthen cooperation in the areas of politics, economy, and security. Additionally, Minister Maehara said that Japan intended to extend ODA loans equivalent to 100 million USD (8.291 billion JPY) for Indonesia’s Third Infrastructure Reform Sector Development Program, a program to develop the investment environment with a main focus on public-private partnership (PPP) projects. In response, Foreign Minister Marty thanked Japan for its longtime assistance.
Cooperation in the East Asian Region
Minister Maehara stated that, as Indonesia chaired ASEAN this year, Japan intended to cooperate on strengthening coordination toward the ASEAN-related foreign ministerial and summit-level meetings, and to advance consultations for formulating a new document to define Japan-ASEAN relations. In response, Foreign Minister Marty thanked Japan for its previous assistance to ASEAN, and explained Indonesia’s priorities as the ASEAN chair this year. He said that Indonesia was eager to continue working with Japan in building an ASEAN community, strengthening connectivity, and in the framework of the East Asia Summit (EAS).

Furthermore, concerning the issue of Myanmar, Minister Maehara noted the need for the international community to continue involvement and dialogue with Myanmar, and said that Japan intended to continue cooperating closely with ASEAN countries, particularly with Indonesia. In response, Foreign Minister Marty explained ASEAN’s efforts on the Myanmar issue at the informal foreign ministers’ meeting held last month and other venues.
Cooperation on Regional and Global Issues
Minister Maehara said that Japan was eager to join hands with Indonesia in promoting the Middle East peace process, in particular in assisting the nation building in Palestine, referring to the dispatch of the Japan-Indonesia joint mission for project formulation to the West Bank from February 14.

In addition to the above topics, the two ministers exchanged views on North Korea. In particular, Minister Maehara explained Japan’s position that North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals is a serious issue, to which Foreign Minister Marty responded that Indonesia was eager to provide any help it can.
Dinner
A dinner was held in an extremely genial atmosphere, substantially exceeding the scheduled time. Minister Maehara touched on sports exchanges, and expressed his eagerness to further strengthen bilateral exchanges in such fields as soccer. The two ministers also concurred on the significance of promoting exchanges among younger generations in such fields.

(*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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