Minister: New Zealand Becomes Key Partner in Indonesia's Pacific Relations

Auckland, VIVA – Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that New Zealand is one of Indonesia's key partners in the Pacific.

Commemorating the 66th anniversary of the two countries' relations, Retno held a bilateral meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters in a joint ministerial commission (JMC) format in Auckland on Tuesday (July 30).

"I emphasized at the beginning of the meeting that a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Pacific is key to a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific," Minister Marsudi said in a statement.

The Minister stressed that a peaceful Indo-Pacific cannot be achieved by one country alone but requires cooperation and collaboration from many countries.

"I expressed appreciation for New Zealand's consistent support for Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. I also conveyed Indonesia's readiness to continue strengthening cooperation with New Zealand in the context of advancing economic and development cooperation in the Pacific," she explained.

During the meeting, the two foreign ministers discussed several areas of bilateral cooperation, including people-to-people contact with the finalization of the Amendment Protocol of the Education Arrangement, which is ready to be signed, as well as discussions on a working holiday visa agreement proposal.

Regarding economic cooperation, Minister Marsudi revealed that the trade volume between the two countries has increased by 13 percent over the past five years.

However, hard work is still needed as last year there was a decline in the trade value between the two countries.

"All trade facilities must be utilized, including through RCEP, so that we can increase trade figures again. Indonesia welcomes the signing of the quarantine arrangement which is expected to advance agricultural product trade," she stated.

In line with horticultural cooperation, Indonesia has utilized the Regional Seasonal Employment (RSE) scheme.

So far, Indonesia has sent approximately 870 seasonal plantation workers to New Zealand.

"This cooperation has been ongoing since 2007. In the meeting, I emphasized Indonesia's hope that the number of seasonal workers from Indonesia can be increased," she said.

The two countries also have several cooperation agreements in the halal sector and will follow up on government-to-government cooperation for mutual recognition of halal certification.

Minister Marsudi once again invited New Zealand to increase its investment in Indonesia, including in the energy, tourism, and food security sectors.

Indonesia also appreciated the funding commitment of NZD 15.7 million (approximately IDR 151 billion) for geothermal energy cooperation under the Indonesia-Aotearoa New Zealand Geothermal Energy Programme (PINZ).