Saturday, December 2, 2023

Indonesia, India Seek to Establish Travel Lane for Vaccinated Travelers

Jakarta Globe
October 31, 2021 | 12:43 pm
SHARE
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi 
(Antara Photo/Sigid Kurniawan)
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Antara Photo/Sigid Kurniawan)

Jakarta. Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and her Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar have discussed the possibility of establishing a bilateral travel lane between the two countries as the two ministers met ahead of the G-20 Summit in Rome Italy, on Saturday. 

"We are talking about the possibility of immediately exploring the creation of a vaccinated travel lane or VTL and the recognition of vaccine certificates to allow safe travel," Retno said in a virtual press conference on Saturday.

"I also said that India is one of 19 countries whose tourists can visit Bali," Retno said.

The two foreign ministers discussed further the Covid-19 situation in their respective countries, which had made significant progress.

Advertisement

Foreign Minister Retno said that Indonesia had progressed well in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. The ratio of Covid-19 tests that came back positive, or positivity rate, is at 0.4 percent in the past few days, well below the threshold of 5 percent.

That reflects the declining number of daily new cases, which is now at below 700 new cases per day, 99 percent below the country's peak of 50,000 in July. 

Apart from discussing the travel lane, the two ministers also talked about vaccines, Indonesia's G20 chairmanship, and climate change. 

Retno asked India to ensure there would be no more delay in delivering vaccines that Indonesia ordered from the South Asian country.

India had to embargo all AstraZeneca vaccine exports early this year to prioritize domestic use as the Covid-19 ravaged the country. The number of cases reached more than 390,000 a day at its peak. Like Indonesia, the number of cases in India has dropped in the past few weeks to below 15,000 a day. 

The two foreign ministers also discussed the role of Indonesia, which will be the chairman of the G-20 next year.

India, which will take over from Indonesia as the chair of the G-20 in 2023, expressed full support for the Indonesian presidency and agreed to pay attention to the interests of developing countries in the forum.

On the issue of climate change, Indonesia and India agreed on the importance of all countries committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions according to their obligations.

"Especially for developed countries, we hope that developed countries can fulfill their commitment to funding support and technology transfer," said Retno.

Tags: Keywords:
SHARE

POPULAR READS


Business 57 minutes ago

Harita Nickel Increases Stake in Gane Tambang Sentosa to 99%

The acquisition will increase Harita’s nickel reserves to 302 million tons, making it the fifth-largest Indonesian nickel miner by deposits.
News 15 hours ago

Philippines Opens Monitoring Base on Remote Island in Disputed South China Sea

Thitu is one of nine islands, islets and atolls that have been occupied by Philippine forces since the 1970s
News 15 hours ago

President’s Office Refutes Allegations of Interference in Setya Novanto Case

Former House Speaker Setya Novanto is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence after being convicted of corruption charges.
Special Updates 15 hours ago

Teras by Plataran to Open at Pondok Indah Mall 2

Teras by Plataran will open at Pondok Indah Mall (PIM) 2 in Jakarta this Sunday
Lifestyle 21 hours ago

Foreign Tourist Arrivals Drop 8.57 Pct in October

BPS reported that foreign tourist arrivals had seen a 8.57 percent drop in October compared to the previous month.

Popular Tag


Opini Title

COPYRIGHT © 2023 JAKARTA GLOBE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED