Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Peterson during his visit to Indonesia February 21-24 discussed strategies to spur bilateral cooperation between Norway and Indonesia with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirayuda, in Jakarta.
Among the strategies discussed, the two ministers explored an idea to establish an Indonesia-Norway joint commission which, if launched, would become a medium for the two countries to enhance bilateral cooperation in many fields.
“The meeting between the Indonesian and Norwegian foreign ministers will open a new chapter in relations between the two countries. It will be an attempt to widen and boost bilateral ties, including in the fishery and marine sector as well as in trade and investment areas,” Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a release.
The two ministers also discussed preparations for the forthcoming dialog on human rights to be held in Jakarta on May 4-5, which has since its launch two years ago been working as a platform for cooperation within the field of human rights between the two countries.
During the visit, a letter of intent was also signed to combat widespread illegal logging, which also covers the timber trade and timber products.
The last day of Perterson’s visit to Indonesia saw him meeting with Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Soewandi.
The visit comes at a time when exiled leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have begun relocating some of their activities from Sweden to Norway, which has a more liberal refugee policy than Sweden, amid stepped-up efforts by Jakarta to prove the exiled leaders were engaged in terrorist activities.
