FMs of Indonesia, Finland Have Bilateral Meeting

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi held a bilateral meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini on Monday to discuss the Finnish President's plans to visit Indonesia.

"This is my second meeting with the Finnish Foreign Minister after I met him in New York. Soini is in Indonesia to accompany the Finnish President to meet President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) tomorrow," Retno L Marsudi said after a bilateral meeting with the Finnish Foreign Minister here on Monday.

In that meeting, according to Retno, she and Soini discussed several bilateral matters, particularly cooperation focused on renewable energy and information technology.

"During his visit to Indonesia, the Finnish Foreign Minister was accompanied by representatives of 11 companies involved in the clean and efficient energy sector, infrastructure, port management and communication and information technology," she said.

They also discussed Schengen free visa facility for Indonesians holding service and diplomatic passports. The two foreign ministers also discussed the possibility of Indonesians in general to avail of the Schengen free visa facility.  
According to Retno, Finland will support Indonesia in the European Commission on the issue of Schengen free visa facility.

"We also discussed the issue of mutual support in UNESCO and UN Security Council," she said.

On the occasion, Retno also invited her counterpart to attend the 8th Bali Democracy Forum which will be held in the Indonesian tourist resort island of Bali on December 10, 2015.

"Indonesia will host it for the eighth time and for this year, we will choose the theme of 'Democracy and Effective Public Governance'," the Foreign Minister said.

She said relations between Indonesia and Finland were now very good. The good relations are evident from the bilateral trade that reached US$780 million in 2014.

Finland's investment in Indonesia also increased significantly, from US$800 thousand in 2013 to US$3.6 million in 2014. (WDY)