Indonesian-Australian FM meet to discuss Bali

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will meet her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop to discuss preparations for jointly chairing the Bali Process.

"The Indonesian foreign minister will meet her counterpart Julie Bishop at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry on March 21 to discuss final preparations before the foreign ministers co-chair the Bali Process," Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said here on Thursday.

The Indonesian government will encourage the creation of a mechanism which would respond to emergency situations through the declaration of the Ministerial Level Meeting of the Sixth Bali Process on Human Trafficking, Human Trade and Trans-boundary Crimes in Nusa Dua, Bali, on March 22 to 23, 2016.

Arrmanatha said that 44 countries have confirmed participation in the foreign ministerial meeting of the Bali Process. They are member countries and observers. It will also be attended by six international organizations.

"So far, those who have made confirmation have begun to arrive. Today, 13 ministers, eight deputy ministers and other senior officials have arrived," he said. 

Indonesia wants to encourage the creation of the mechanism to respond to the emergency situation in the Sixth Bali Process as part of its efforts to respond to the presence of 1,800 Myanmarese and Bangladeshi refugees who crossed through the Andaman and Bengal Seas in May 2015.

The foreign ministry spokesman said that the ministerial level meeting of the Bali Process was expected to produce two documents on co-chair statement and ministerial declarations of the Bali Process.

"Co-chair statement will reflect more on what has been discussed and what has been achieved in the meeting. The declaration document will contain oriented actions, coordinated steps and what countries to do what," he said.

Arrmanatha said further that besides discussing preparations for the Bali Process, the foreign ministers will also hold talks on bilateral issues, among others the strengthening of cooperation in the trade sector, investment, people's relations, education and efforts to combat terrorism.

As host, Indonesia has invited 47 member countries, 18 other nations and three international organizations, namely the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, International Migration Organization and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Source: ANTARA