Indonesia, New Zealand use scorecard to improve bilateral ties

Foreign ministers of Indonesia and New Zealand inaugurated the use of scorecard as a measurable, reportable and verifiable mechanism in advancing bilateral ties of the two nations, a statement released by Indonesian foreign ministry said here on Thursday.\ Implementation of scorecard mechanism in the bilateral ties was resulted from the meeting of the two nations' leaders in Jakarta in April 2012. Initiation of the scorecard was officiated by Indonesia foreign minister Marty Natalegawa and his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in the sixth joint commission meeting held in Auckland, New Zealand. The joint commission meeting discussed and identified possibilities to expand ties in economy and investment cooperation. It also explored ways to improve people-to-people contact by frequenting flights between the two countries and promoting education in the two countries. The scorecard would be used as an accountable mechanism to review bilateral ties development and identify new initiatives to explore more cooperation between the two countries. "This meeting gives new momentum in strengthening bilateral relations between Indonesia and New Zealand on several sectors that have become our mutual interests. It also shows how important New Zealand is to Indonesia's foreign policies in terms of geopolitics and geostrategic," Marty Natalegawa, who is in Auckland for a two-day working visit starting Wednesday, said in the event. New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully reiterated the importance of relations between the two countries, saying it was showed in the appointment of New Zealand's honorary consuls in Surabaya and Bali. The two nations established diplomatic ties almost 40 years ago.