VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian House Speaker Puan Maharani and President of the Senate of Thailand Pornpetch Wichitcholchai discussed plans for the pandemic-to-endemic transition in their respective countries during a bilateral meeting in Bali on Wednesday.

During the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, they both agreed that the transition period needs to be prepared carefully to guarantee effective recovery programs.

"Various adjustments have been made by Indonesia. The Indonesian House of Representatives has participated in supervising the government's efforts, which draw up a road map to the endemic," Maharani told Wichitcholchai.

They also shared experiences regarding efforts for recovering the tourism sector considering that it is one of the main sources of foreign exchange for both Indonesia and Thailand.

"I encourage the cooperation between the two countries to revitalize tourism," Maharani said.

Aside from tourism, she also pushed for increasing trade and investment cooperation. She welcomed the Thai National Assembly’s approval for the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on the establishment of the Indonesian and Thai Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group.

According to Maharani, the House is still reviewing the MoU and the draft will be completed soon.

During the 144th IPU Assembly, she also met Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, Speaker of the Kuwait National Assembly, and discussed women's empowerment policies.

"We see that women's empowerment contributes greatly to peace, democracy, human rights, and the handling of COVID-19," she remarked.

On the same day, she also met the President of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste, Aniceto Longuinhos.

Maharani and Longuinhos discussed border negotiations that have not been resolved until now.

"We ask for the support of the Timor-Leste (Parliament) to expedite the completion of the determination of land borders in the Noel Besi-Citrana segment and the Bijael Sunan-Oben segment," she said.

Maharani further said that Indonesia supports full membership for Timor Leste in ASEAN and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.  (Antaranews)