TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, discussed the possibility of the two countries exploring cooperation for the recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates.

The two foreign ministers held talks on Friday ahead of the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders Meeting in Rome, Italy.

“We spoke about the possibility of opening vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) soon and recognizing (each other’s) vaccination certificates to ensure safe travel,” Marsudi remarked while delivering a press statement virtually from Rome on Saturday.

Both foreign ministers further discussed the COVID-19 situation in each other’s country wherein significant progress had been recorded.

Marsudi pointed to the sound handling of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, with a positivity rate of below one percent and even 0.4 percent in the past few days.

“I also said India is one of the 19 countries whose tourists are allowed to visit Bali,” she affirmed.

She also called on India to ship the vaccines ordered by Indonesia without further ado.

Both foreign ministers also discussed Indonesia’s presidency of G20 next year.

India, which will take over the G20 presidency from Indonesia in 2023, fully supports the latter's presidency of the group and has agreed to be heedful of the interests of developing nations at the forum.

G20 represents over 80 percent of the world's gross domestic product, 75 percent of the global trade, and 60 percent of the global population.

Regarding climate change, Indonesia and India have agreed on the importance of all countries staying committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with their obligation.

“We sincerely hope that the developed countries would be able to fulfill their commitments to funding support and technological transfer,” she noted.

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