Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop met here on Monday to discuss the preparations for the 6th Bali Process, in which both ministers will co-chair the meeting.
"This is our follow-up meeting after I had met Minister Bishop in Sydney two months. Apart from discussing some bilateral issues, we also spoke about the Bali Process meeting to be held next Wednesday on March 23, in which we would be co-chairs," Foreign Minister Marsudi noted here on Monday.
The 6th Bali Process ministerial conference is considered to be an important regional forum to finding solutions to the problems related to people smuggling, human trafficking, and related transnational crimes.
The conference will be held in Nusa Dua, Bali, on March 22-23.
During the forum, Indonesia is keen to encourage the mechanism of responding to emergency situations by taking into account the 1.8 thousand refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh who crossed the Andaman and Bengal seas in May 2015.
The ministerial meeting is expected to produce two important documents: the co-chair statement and the Bali Process Ministerial Declaration.
"The co-chair statement will more accurately reflect on what has been discussed and agreed upon during the meeting, while the declaration will focus on action-oriented and coordinated measures, and the specific task of every country," Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Arrmanatha Nasir, noted.
According to Nasir, as many as 44 countries have confirmed to participate in the Bali Process, including member states and observer countries. Moreover, six international organizations are also expected to attend the conference.
"So far, 13 ministers and eight deputy ministers have confirmed their presence, while other countries will be represented by their senior officials," Nasir stated.
As the host country, Indonesia has invited 47 member states, 18 participant countries, and three international organizations such as the UNHCR, IOM, and UNODC.(WDY)
