VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia and Serbia agreed to strengthen cooperation on food security, especially for wheat.

This came out during a meeting between Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic, Monday (23/05/2022) at the Pancasila Building, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta.

According to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, strengthening cooperation is based on concerns about the impact of the war in Ukraine which has also hit the world's food security sector.

"Regarding food security cooperation, we have shared concerns about the impact of the war in Ukraine on food security, particularly the increase in food prices," said the Indonesian Foreign Minister when giving a press statement after the meeting.

Retno explained, in order to facilitate the export of wheat commodities to Indonesia, PT Berdikasi which is a State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN) is said to be ready to facilitate exports later.

"For this reason, we agreed to increase trade cooperation in food/agricultural commodities, especially wheat. In this regard, the Indonesian State-Owned Enterprise, PT Berdikari, and their Serbian business partners have shown readiness to facilitate the export of Serbian wheat to Indonesia," she explained.

Meanwhile, regarding Indonesia's commitment to the war in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that Indonesia considered it important to uphold the principle of respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Including, Indonesia encourages all parties to immediately stop the war.

"I also underline Indonesia's call for all parties to immediately stop the war and seek a peaceful solution at the negotiating table. I also emphasize the need to develop a strategic climate of trust, in which each country bears the responsibility to contribute to creating an enabling environment for peaceful conflict resolution," said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

Foreign Minister Selakovic said, apart from wheat, Serbia is also interested in exporting other commodities to Indonesia.

“We have spoken of course about the situation and conflict in Ukraine regarding food security, as well as all the consequences that have arisen after the start of this complex situation. We are interested in discussing the export of our food, namely wheat. But, not only wheat to enter the Indonesian market," said the Serbian Foreign Minister.

Kayrros, a satellite analysis company in 2022 in its report, said that the conflict in Ukraine meant that it was estimated that the country had the potential to produce 21 million tons of wheat, a decline of 23 percent from the average export in the last five years. Previously, Ukraine produced about 33 million tons of wheat, of which 20 tons were exported to a number of countries every year.

Meanwhile, Indonesia-Serbia trade volume in 2021 shows a positive trend even in the midst of a pandemic. That is, reaching USD 26.8 million. Serbia also increased the market share of Indonesia's palm oil exports by up to 30%.

The bilateral meeting between the Indonesian Foreign Minister and the Serbian Foreign Minister in Jakarta, along with the signing of three memorandums of understanding between the two countries. Namely, the Prevention and Eradication of Transnational Crimes and Capacity Building signed in December 2021, the Joint Legal Aid Agreement (MLA) on Criminal Issues and the Treaty on Extradition, and Diplomatic Capacity Building Cooperation. (RRI)