EU Troika mission visits Indonesia

JAKARTA: Three European Union (EU) ministers are scheduled to meet the new Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda in an EU Troika Mission to Jakarta on Thursday.

The two-day mission, which arrived on Wednesday, is led by Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, accompanied by representatives from Luxembourg and the European Commission, said a press release from the Royal Netherlands Embassy on Wednesday.

Holland now holds the EU rotational presidency while Luxembourg will take over the presidency next year.

The mission is a follow-up to a recent meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU on Indonesia.

In its Oct. 11 meeting, the Council reaffirmed the EU's wish to build a closer partnership with Indonesia through political dialog, which is institutionalized in the ministerial EU Troika meetings.

The council also proposed that such meetings be held on a regular basis. -- JP