Jakarta Globe, Apr 20, 2015
Jakarta.
Vanuatu is preparing to open an embassy in Jakarta in a bid to enhance
bilateral relations, the foreign affairs minister of the Pacific Island nation
announced on Sunday.
“Vanuatu
has a great diplomatic relationship with Indonesia. Therefore, Vanuatu hopes to
have its embassy in Jakarta,” Minister Meltek Sato Kilman Livtunvanu said on
Sunday, as cited by state-run news agency Antara.
“Indonesia
and Vanuatu will also be able to experience stronger bilateral relations in the
future and be able to discuss various global issues together,” Kilman added.
Vanuatu is
among the 80-plus nations gathering in Indonesia for the Asian-African
Conference, which is taking place in Jakarta and Bandung until Friday.
Indonesia’s
Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said on Sunday that the government
welcomes Vanuatu’s plan.
“We are
very excited and proud of Vanuatu’s decision to open its embassy in Jakarta.
This means that almost all countries of the Pacific will have an embassy here,”
Retno said.
She added
that both countries are committed to discussing the technicalities of
establishing resident embassies and opportunities for partnership in other
sectors.
“We have
talked about boosting partnerships in the economic, engineering and
agricultural sectors where we already have very good cooperation with Vanuatu,”
Retno said.
The
minister also expressed her optimism about where relations are going between
Indonesia and other Melanesian countries in the Pacific.
Melanesia
extends from Fiji to the Arafura Sea and is commonly thought to include Fiji,
Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, West Papua and the
Maluku islands. The latter two are part of Indonesia.
“Indonesia’s
Melanesians are about to become larger than other groups of Melanesians. So, I
tell you this: Indonesia is Melanesia and Melanesia is Indonesia,” Retno said,
as cited by news portal CNNIndonesia.com.
In early
April, the Indonesian government sent $2 million worth of aid to Vanuatu after
a devastating cyclone hit the country and left 11 dead and thousands homeless.
Related Article:
Foreign
Minister Retno Marsudi, center, sends off the Indonesian aid
delegation
to cyclone-hit Vanuatu. (Antara Foto/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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