TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian and South Korean governments agreed to establish a health cooperation in developing the Covid-19 vaccine and medical diagnostic tools, the Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi announced on Friday, June 25.

The South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Chung Eui-yong, who arrived in Jakarta on Friday, ratified the plan of action (POA) on the implementation of the strategic partnership of 2021-2025 along with the triangular cooperation MoU.

“Amidst the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Republic of South Korea is one of the countries Indonesia is partnering with in healthcare. Some of the partnerships include the procurement of PPD, diagnostic medical tools, and medication,” said Retno in her written statement following the bilateral meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Chung Eui-yong in Jakarta.

The minister said the vaccine partnership project between Indonesia’s Kalbe Farma and Genexine from South Korea will host a second and third clinical trial in Jakarta and Central Java in the middle of this year. The vaccine is expected to be available by the end of 2021.

Prior to this meeting, Indonesia’s Bappenas and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) also signed an MoU on Inclusive Program for Covid-19 Response worth US$4 million (Rp57.7 billion) which aims to support a number of pandemic socio-economic mitigation programs.

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EKA YUDHA SAPUTRA