Indonesia and Ireland are committed to promoting concrete cooperation in various fields, including politics, economics, the digital and creative industries as well as education and culture, as reflected during the Indonesia-Ireland Bilateral Consultation in Jakarta, (13/10/2022).
The meeting is the first bilateral consultation by the two Director Generals. In 2019, Indonesia initiated a bilateral consultation at a director level held in Dublin, Ireland.
Indonesia’s head of delegation, Director General for America and Europe, Umar Hadi, highlighted the many untapped potentials offered by Indonesia-Ireland and expressed his optimism that the two countries can continue increasing bilateral trade. DG Umar Hadi also encourages business-to-business contact to create more business opportunities between the two countries. As Ireland is also part of the EU, Ireland’s support for finalizing the Indonesia-EU CEPA negotiation is also essential to open up more business opportunities.
In the creative industry sector, Director General Umar Hadi expressed his hopes that Indonesia-Ireland cooperation can further strengthen the Indonesian creative industry ecosystem, including enhancing human resource capacity in event management, production, and post-production. Director General Umar Hadi also encourages cooperation in developing and utilizing Indonesian creative talents (talent pool) to play a greater role in the global arena.
The head of the Irish Delegation, Director General of Economy and Asia Pacific, Gerard Keown, highlighted Ireland’s interests to continue to develop a strengthened partnership with Indonesia. DG Keown expressed his hopes that more companies can invest in Indonesia while pointing out that there are already dozens of Irish companies in Indonesia, including a digital animation company. Ireland is also interested in enhancing people-to-people connections, including through intensifying education cooperation.
The two delegations also share views on the potential for developing forest energy, especially the opportunity of biomass and bio-energy production, to help reduce emissions and address the energy security challenge.
During the meeting, the two directors general also exchanged views on regional and global issues such as the G-20, Indonesia’s chairmanship in ASEAN in 2023, Indonesia-EU relations, Russia and Ukraine, and mutual support for candidacies in various international organizations.
Source : Kementrian Luar Negeri Indonesia
