Luhut Meets Chinese Foreign Minister, Discuss Cooperation in Facing COVID-19

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan as Indonesia's Special Envoy, met Chinese Foreign Minister and member of the State Council Wang Yi, and discussed a number of bilateral cooperation related matters including COVID-19 handling strategies.

Minister Pandjaitan went to Yunan, China on October 9 and 10 after being invited by Minister Wang Yi, where both Ministers had further discussions on the topics of trade and investment, health, education and research, vaccine, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and cultural as well as people to people exchange.

In a statement received here, Sunday, Minister Pandjaitan explained that the Chinese government will follow up Indonesia's appeal for elevated market access for tropical fruits, fisheries product and seafood, swallow birds' nest and increased imports of Indonesian coal.

Minister Wang Yi will also push for the involvement of Chinese higher education institutions in the development of Conservation, Research, and Innovation Center for China-Indonesia Herbal Medicines in Humbang Hasudutan, North Sumatra.

"This center can be very rich with more than 30,000 species of herbs. I hope the support from Zhejiang University, Yunnan University, and the Center for Excellence in Medicinal Plants and Related Industries," Minister Pandjaitan said.

The "Two Countries Twin Parks" cooperation, was proposed by the Fujian Provincial Government last year, will also be followed up by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Pandjaitan hoped for the cooperation to be materialized soon.

From the Indonesian side, there is a location in Bintan covering an area of 4,000 hectares with relatively good supporting infrastructure. The concept of cooperation, he explained, can also be developed into "Two Countries Twin Parks with Multiple Zones", by preparing at least three industrial areas including Bintan, Batang and Aviarna Semarang.

Furthermore, he said the development project for the Tsinghua South East Asia Center on Turtle Island in Bali was also a raised by the Chinese Government.

During the meeting, Minister Pandjaitan expressed his hope for the Chinese government to encourage professors and experts to collaborate with the Tsinghua South East Asia Center and for technology companies such as Huawei and Tencent to invest there.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that his government always views the relationship between the two countries strategically. The two countries are expected to strengthen mutual political trust and continue to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

"Cooperation in various areas has achieved incredibly fast progress," said Wang Yi.

In regard to the cooperation for vaccine technology transfer, Wang Yi said that Indonesia is a country with the strongest vaccine production capacity in Southeast Asia, and that it could provide an opportunity for Chinese companies.

"We will support our company to increase cooperation, especially sharing technology and experience, so that Indonesia can become a vaccine production center in the Southeast Asian region," he said.

In addition, the collaboration on the Poverty Alleviation Program based on science and technology learned from China's experience will also be one of the long-term strategic partnerships between the two countries.

Wang Yi will follow up on Minister Pandjaitan's request for China to share its experiences through this program  and through the relevant ministries as well as  institutions.

"In this pandemic era, we are still able to lift all poverty according to our targeted schedule, and this is the first time we have eliminated pure poverty in 5,000 years of history. We are willing to share experiences with Indonesia, and will connect with related offices," said Wang Yi.

Read also: Minister Luhut Will Visit China to Observe COVID-19 Vaccine

ANTARA