VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The governments of Indonesia and South Korea continue to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the maritime sector. Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan held a bilateral meeting with South Korean Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Seong-hyeok in Jakarta last Wednesday, October 13 to discuss a number of cooperation projects between the two countries. Luhut Pandjaitan in a written statement emphasized, he was very pleased to welcome the presence of Minister Moon Seong-Hyeok. Through this bilateral meeting he hopes that the collaboration between Indonesia and the Republic of Korea will be stronger, especially in maritime institutions.

In particular, the meeting discussed various collaborative projects through the Marine Technology Research Cooperation Center such as mangrove restoration, marine debris management, climate change and several other issues related to maritime. The two ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding related to the offshore installation service industry.   It was also signed by five companies involved in this cooperation, namely GasEntec and Samin MTS from South Korea and Elnusa, GTSI, JSK Shipping from Indonesia. Luhut Pandjaitan emphasized, this memorandum of understanding became the basis of cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea for demolition of abandoned offshore platforms. Unused offshore footholds will be used for artificial coral reefs, aquaculture, marine tourism, and research centers.

There are four issues discussed in the memorandum of understanding. Namely, the development of technology related to the offshore installation service industry, encouraging communication and cooperation in the private sector, capacity building and human resource development. There are also the closure of facilities and environmental restoration of oil and gas platforms (decommissioning) and offshore mill reuse.

Meanwhile, South Korean Ocean and Fisheries Minister, Moon Seong-hyeok Moon hopes that the cooperation between the two countries can help support the development of various industries in Indonesia. He emphasized, South Korea has always supported various bilateral cooperation with Indonesia, mainly related to maritime issues  and  hopes that various industries can continue to develop through this cooperation.