RI accepts U.S. visa policy

JAKARTA: Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda says the Indonesian government has no intention of making an issue out of the U.S. policy to apply strict visa application rules to males from 25 countries, including Indonesia.

"We don't mean to question that because every country has the right to determine their own screening policy," Hassan said at the State Palace.

The U.S. tightened its visa procurement procedures for males aged between 16 and 45 following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The American Embassy in Jakarta has said that it will temporarily tighten nonimmigrant visa application procedures as a precautionary measure.

Hassan said that all countries had the right to restrict the inflow of foreign nationals on security grounds. --JP