Indonesia-Colombia Agree Visa Exemption to Increase Tourists

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi and Colombian Foreign Minister Claudia Blum de Barberi on Wednesday virtually signed a Visa Exemption Agreement for regular Passport Holders (photo: Kemlu RI)

Jakarta, MINA – The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi and Colombian Foreign Minister Claudia Blum de Barberi on Wednesday virtually signed a Visa Exemption Agreement for regular Passport Holders.

“The agreement is expected to increase the number of tourists after the Covid-19 pandemic has ended,” said the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press statement on Thursday.

A total of 6,304 Colombian citizens visited Indonesia in 2019, an increase of 15.7 percent from 2008.

In addition, the two Foreign Ministers also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MSP) regarding the Political Consultation between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.

The signing of the MSP is a new mechanism that will further strengthen relations between the two countries, complementing the Joint Commission Session which was first held in Bogota, Colombia, in 2013.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed that the implementation of the Joint Political Consultation and Commission could be carried out in 2020.

The virtual meeting was held in the context of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries on September 15, 2020.

Colombia is an important friendly country for Indonesia, as the sixth largest trading partner in South America in 2019, also the second largest investment partner in the region in the same year. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)