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Indonesian Ambassador to Venezuela Imam Edy Mulyono met with Venezuelan Tourism Minister Alí Padrón Paredes to hold discussions on efforts to intensify cooperation between both nations in the tourism sector.

The meeting between the Indonesian ambassador and the Venezuelan tourism minister was held on Tuesday (Jan 19) in Caracas, Venezuela, according to a written statement issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Caracas and received here on Thursday.

On the occasion, the Indonesian ambassador in Caracas and the Venezuelan minister of tourism explored further cooperation in the areas of medical and sports tourism on grounds of similarities in characteristics between the two countries as tropical nations, as well as the development of various sports facilities that Indonesia has, such as the Moto GP circuit, and Indonesia's success in organizing the Asian Games in 2018.

The Venezuelan tourism minister expressed interest to pay a visit and enhance cooperation in the tourism sector with Indonesia.

"Indonesia is one of the countries that has a leading tourism sector. Hence, I am interested in undertaking a visit to Indonesia to participate in tourism exhibitions there as well as to forge further cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism in Indonesia," Minister Paredes stated.

"Similarly, I am hopeful that Indonesia would also participate in tourism exhibitions held in Venezuela," he remarked.

The Indonesian ambassador in Caracas has welcomed the plan. "There has, so far, been positive cooperation between the Governments of Indonesia and Venezuela, one of which is apparent through the promotion of Wonderful Indonesia at various public facilities in Venezuela," Ambassador Mulyono pointed out.

"As such, we also welcome the planned visit of the Venezuelan minister of tourism to Indonesia, as an effort to increase cooperation between the two countries in the tourism sector," he remarked.

Furthermore, the Venezuelan tourism minister’s visit is expected to be followed up with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Tourism of both nations that is currently still in the exploratory stage.

Bilateral relations between Indonesia and Venezuela were established 61 years ago. Today, cooperation between both nations in the tourism sector has been closely established, including through the promotion of Wonderful Indonesia at various facilities in Venezuela. (antaranews)