ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan and Indonesia have underscored their commitment to continue strengthening bilateral relations.
The commitment was expressed when the First meeting of Bilateral Consultative Forum between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan was held in Jakarta on July 11, 2017, said a press release issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Saturday.
In the Forum, Pakistani delegation was led by Additional Secretary (Asia Pacific), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan Syed Zulfiqar Gardezi whereas the Indonesian side was led by Director General for Asia Pacific and African Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Desra Percaya.
The additional secretary also separately met Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs A M Fachir and Deputy Secretary General ASEAN Hirubalan V P and discussed ways to enhance Pakistan-ASEAN engagement.
The Pakistan-Indonesia First Consultative Forum reviewed the whole spectrum of bilateral relations including political, defence, security, economy and consular matters and it was agreed to translate the existing goodwill into concrete measures.
The two sides discussed increased high level exchanges over the coming months. To increase people to people contacts, easing visa regime to facilitate exchanges was emphasized.
Both sides noted that the upcoming review under the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) discussion provides a good opportunity between Indonesia and Pakistan to foster bilateral trade relations.
The two sides assured positive consideration on these matters.
Both the Countries underscored their commitment to continue strengthening bilateral ties especially through the mechanism of Consultative Forum, Joint Commission, Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism and Policy Planning Dialogue.
It was agreed to hold the Pakistan-Indonesia Second Meeting of Bilateral Consultative Forum at a mutually convenient date in Pakistan during 2018.
Besides reviewing the current state of bilateral relations, both sides exchanged views on regional and global issues including South Asia and the ASEAN region and expressed satisfaction on cooperation at various multilateral fora.
The Pakistan side highlighted the issues in relations with India particularly its continued gross human rights violations in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
