Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Her Excellency Retno Marsudi met with Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan today. Minister Balakrishnan and Foreign Minister Retno reaffirmed the strong and multi-faceted ties between Singapore and Indonesia. They also discussed several new areas of bilateral cooperation which were identified during the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat in Semarang, Indonesia, in November 2016. These include cooperation in areas such as tourism, energy and the establishment of the Indonesia-Singapore Business Council. Both Foreign Ministers agreed to continue deepening cooperation in mutually beneficial areas. The Ministers also exchanged views on regional and international developments, and reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN unity and centrality.
Foreign Minister Retno and Minister Balakrishnan also exchanged the Instruments of Ratification for the Treaty between the Republic of Singapore and the Republic of Indonesia relating to the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas of the Two Countries in the Eastern Part of the Strait of Singapore, which was signed in 2014. The Foreign Ministers jointly announced that Singapore and Indonesia would celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2017. They also welcomed the year-long series of activities and events to be held in both countries to commemorate the anniversary.
Foreign Minister Retno also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the afternoon. Prime Minister Lee and Foreign Minister Retno reaffirmed the importance of closer bilateral cooperation. Prime Minister Lee also looked forward to hosting Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Singapore for the Leaders’ Retreat later this year.
Foreign Minister Retno delivered an RSIS Distinguished Public Lecture entitled “Indonesia’s Foreign Policy under the Jokowi Administration” in the morning.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
10 FEBRUARY 2017