The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Venezuela, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Saint Lucia, the Commonwealth of Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Imam Edy Mulyono, has emphasized the importance of strengthening relations between Indonesia and countries in the Caribbean.
This was at a meeting held with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chief of Missions in Caracas, Venezuela on November 9, 2022.
According to a release from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Caracas, in numerous multilateral forums, Caribbean countries have supported Indonesia’s candidacy, including Indonesia’s bid for a non-permanent member of the Security Council (2019-2020) and the UN- Human Rights Council (2020-2021).
“Good political relations between Indonesia and CARICOM members are the basis for strengthening cooperation in various sectors such as economic and social-cultural”, said Ambassador Imam.
The ambassador went on to explain that “Some businessmen from the Caribbean recently attended the Indonesia-Latin America and Caribbean Business Forum (INA-LAC) and Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) last October and they are very interested in Indonesian products. , especially in ready-to-drink foods, beverages, as well as agricultural tools”.
Furthermore, representatives of the CARICOM countries that attended this meeting supported Indonesia’s idea to encourage more trade between Indonesia and the CARICOM countries, including support for the basis of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to improve market access between the two regions, which is currently still in the negotiation phase.
“In the socio-cultural sector, representatives of the CARICOM countries are very grateful for the various capacity building programs offered by Indonesia. They also appreciate Indonesia for chairing the G20 this year by raising concrete topics, especially the topic related to mitigating the impact of climate change, which has become a major concern for Caribbean island countries,” Ambassador Imam explained.
Indonesia has been officially accredited as the third country in CARICOM since May 2, 2018, the release said.
The status granted is expected to strengthen relations between Indonesia and CARICOM, as well as increase Indonesia’s economic relations in the Caribbean.
