Foreign Minister János Martonyi – on his official visit to Indonesia – had a meeting with his counterpart, Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta on 24 April 2012. The parties explored several new areas of cooperation during their talks.

Indonesia, a significant country of the Southeast Asian region and of ASEAN, is the most populous Muslim state and – following India and the United States of America – the third most populous democracy of the world. Indonesia is the only country in the region that is a member of the G20. In 2011 it reached an economic growth of more than 6%, and it is searching for partners in order to achieve its highly ambitious plans.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister praised the democratic and economic development of Indonesia, which resulted in raising tens of millions of people out of poverty over the last decade. He pointed out that the Central European market with 100 million consumers offers considerable opportunity for cooperation within the European Union. János Martonyi provided information on the areas of economic partnership offered by Hungarian companies such as automotive industry, oil and gas production, construction technologies, pharmaceutical industry, software development, water-purifying and environmental-friendly technologies, food industry, information technology, and biotechnology. Special emphasis was given to the planned cooperation between the Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company (MOL) and the Indonesian oil and gas industry company, as well as to a water-purifying project.

The institutional framework of the economic cooperation already exists. The Indonesian Foreign Minister pointed to the fact that their Trade Promotion Centre in Budapest contributes to the improvement of relations to a great extent. The Indonesian delegation of the bilateral Business Council will be visiting Hungary in July 2012.

The Indonesian party expressed its appreciation for the high level of medical education in Hungary, which is one reason why they wish to assist Indonesian students in taking advantage of the opportunities of Hungarian higher education. Within the framework of the cooperation of Foreign Ministries, an idea emerged that foreign policy experts could participate in mutual trainings.

The parties signed an agreement on partial visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and service passports, which facilitates the communication of the bodies of the two states, and may result in the promotion of cultural and other relations in addition to the areas of economy.

Marty Natalegawa has been Foreign Minister since October 2009. As a Minister, he already visited Hungary during our EU Presidency, participating in the Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 6-7 June 2011. János Martonyi invited his Indonesian colleague to visit Hungary in order to continue their bilateral dialogue.

(kormany.hu)