RI ministers to attend JC meeting in India

RI ministers to attend JC meeting in India

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda and
Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari arrived in New Delhi on
Monday to attend the second meeting of the Joint Commission (JC)
between Indonesia and India, an official from India's Ministry of
External Affairs said in the Indian capital.

"Both ministers arrived in New Delhi on Monday. The second
Joint Commission meeting will be held on Tuesday," an official,
from the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, who refused
to identify himself, told The Jakarta Post over the telephone on
Monday.

The meeting of the second Joint Commission is aimed at
strengthening the existing areas of cooperation and identifying
new areas.

The first meeting was held in September 2003 in Yogyakarta.

India's External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh will host a
luncheon in honor of his Indonesian dignitaries.

Currently, a 45-member high-level Indonesian delegation is in
India to attend various meetings.

Prior to the Joint Commission meeting, a two-day Senior
Officials Meeting (SOM) was held, during which both countries'
officials discussed a wide range of issues that included
investment and trade ties, security and political issues,
terrorism, agriculture, science and technology and human
resources development, health, education and technical
cooperation.

The Indonesia-India Expert Working Group and the Indonesia-
India Joint Working Group on counterterrorism met in New Delhi on
Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 respectively.

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, and the
world's second most populous state -- India -- are the leading
regional powers in their respective regions and have maintained
close relations with each other since their independence from
their colonial powers.

These ties are moving at a faster pace in cultural, political
and educational fields but slowly though surely on economic and
security fronts.

Both countries' leaders have maintained close contacts through
bilateral visits.

Indonesia's former presidents Abdurrahman Wahid (2000) and
Megawati Soekarnoputri (2002) both visited India, and India's
former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visited Indonesia
twice since 2000. Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
met with Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh in Vientiane in
November 2004 during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) summit meeting.

Thanks to the sincere efforts of both sides, the value of
bilateral trade increased dramatically in recent years.

For example, the total trade value between the two nations
jumped to US$2.4 billion in 2003 from a mere $1.4 billion in
2000, and it is now poised to cross the $3 billion-mark in 2004.

A new chapter in the relations between Indonesia and India
will be opened when Prime Minister Singh visits Indonesia next
month to attend the Asian-African Summit, which will be held in
Jakarta and Bandung.