TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government explored cooperation in the field of agriculture with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during a visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir to Abu Dhabi.

Indonesia explored cooperation in the agricultural field with the UAE-based Elite Agro company, which planned to invest in agribusiness in West Java, Retno Marsudi said during a virtual press conference from Abu Dhabi, on Saturday evening.

The two ministers requested a support from the UAE government for the cooperation, and were scheduled to hold meetings with CEOs of several local companies including Elite Agro during the visit.

"As the final part of this visit, both of us will hold several meetings including with ADIA, then with Masdar, with ADNOC, and also with Elite Agro," she said.

She said that the UAE government showed a strong commitment to supporting strengthening cooperation in various fields, including food.

Meanwhile, Minister Erick Thohir said there was a large market potential, not only in the context of bilateral trade between Indonesia and the UAE, but also the UAE as a distribution hub for the Middle East and Africa region.

Thohir was upbeat that bilateral cooperation in food production would help improve the quality of Indonesia's food products.

The visit of the two Indonesian Ministers to Abu Dhabi was to follow-up a telephone conversation between President Joko Widodo and the Crown Prince of the UAE, Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, on August 17. The two leaders discussed cooperation amid the pandemic, especially related to COVID-19 handling and cooperation in economic, energy and food.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE has imported micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSME) products from Indonesia, such as fruits, fresh vegetables and dried food products.

Read also: Indonesian Govt Heads to UAE for COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

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