VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno L.P. Marsudi has held a bilateral meeting with her counterpart from Brazil, Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira in Bogor, West Java on last Friday (11/5). This visit to Indonesia was the first for Minister Ferreira. Indonesia and Brazil have established strategic partnerships since 2008. This visit is a good momentum for both countries to improve bilateral relations and to revitalize existing and bilateral partnerships. In addition, both Ministers also utilized the meeting to expand market access for Indonesian products in Latin America, such as fish, palm oil, and rubber. During the meeting, both of them also discussed efforts to improve trade, agriculture and people-to-people contact via free visas. In addition, the meeting also discussed the issues of multilateral and regional cooperation that are of mutual concern. The result of the bilateral meeting is the approval of 3 documents by the two Ministers, namely the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Federation of Brazil regarding the Exemption of Visas for both ordinary passports and for diplomatic and service passports. There is the MoU on Technical Cooperation between the governments of the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of Brazil. Minister Retno Marsudi also affirmed that the signing of the three documents is expected to have no barriers to communicate with each other among the public, officials, and others. The intensification of the process can occur further. By mentioning the Visa Exemption for holders of ordinary Passports, Indonesian citizens will get visa-free facility to Brazil for 30 days. The facility is expected to encourage people-to-people and business-to-business contacts to enhance cooperation in various fields, especially economy and trade. Brazil is Indonesia's largest trading partner in South America. The total trade between Indonesia and Brazil in 2017 amounted to $3.18 million dollars. The visit of Brazilian tourists to Indonesia was also the largest in South America, reaching 28,359 in 2017.