The November 1st meeting with Retno L.P. Marsudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, marked the launch of the official visit of Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, to Indonesia.

During the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries discussed in details issues related to the development of bilateral relations, as well as international and regional actual problems. The interlocutors underlined the importance of the intensification of political dialogue between the two countries, fostering of inter-parliamentary ties, expansion of legal framework, promotion of educational and cultural exchanges.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia noted that his visit to Jakarta is aimed at further developing friendly relations with Indonesia. Edward Nalbandian underlined that since his last visit a progress has been registered in bilateral relations: a number of agreements have been implemented, the Embassy of Armenia has been opened and actively operates in Jakarta, last year the delegation headed by the Chairman of the Regional Representative Council of the Parliament of Indonesia visited Yerevan, Indonesia abolished visa requirement for the citizens of Armenia, cultural days of Indonesia were held in Armenia, cooperation between the educational institutions of the two countries has been launched.

The Ministers emphasized the importance of holding regular consultations between their Ministries in that context highly appreciating the Memorandum on cooperation between the MFAs which will be signed within the framework of this visit. The Ministers also commended the establishment of direct contacts between the educational institutions of the two Foreign Ministries, namely the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Centre for Education and Training of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia.

The interlocutors discussed the possibilities of cooperation within different economic integration formats.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Indonesia touched upon the situation in the Middle East, the Syrian crisis, migration issue, fight against terrorism and peaceful settlement of conflicts.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister briefed the Foreign Minister of Armenia on the ongoing processes in the South-East Asia and her country’s approaches to those processes.
Edward Nalbandian informed his counterpart of the efforts exerted by Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs directed towards creating conducive conditions for the advancement of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia invited his Indonesian counterpart to visit Armenia.

At the end of the meeting Edward Nalbandian and Retno Marsudi signed the Agreement on Abolishing Visa Requirement with Respect to Diplomatic and Service Passports Holders, as well as the Memorandum on Cooperation between the Foreign Ministries.

Edward Nalbandian and Muhammad Nasir, Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education, signed Letter of Intent on cooperation in the areas of research, technology and higher education.

After signing of the documents the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Indonesia made the statements for the press.