European Union and Indonesia hold their fourth Political Dialogue

13.11.2019
Brussels

The fourth session of the European Union-Indonesia Political Dialogue took place on 12 November 2019 in Brussels. The agenda focused on a number of topics of mutual interest, ranging from ASEAN-EU relations to multilateralism, and regional issues such as the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East Peace Process, Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – JCPoA), Afghanistan, Syria, and Myanmar.

The EU and Indonesia discussed the natural EU-ASEAN partnership, which has seen the development of closer relations over the last few years, notably through strengthened cooperation on security matters, particularly on maritime, counterterrorism or cybersecurity. They agreed that there remains a large untapped potential for closer coordination and cooperation in many areas, which should be explored.

The EU and Indonesia discussed the broader regional and international geopolitical situation. They shared a joint view on the importance of strengthening the international rules-based order and reiterated their commitment to multilateralism as demonstrated by their respective engagement during the 74th United Nations General Assembly in September.

The EU and Indonesia found a very large degree of common ground in their discussions of global issues such as the Korean Peninsula, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, the Middle East Peace Process and Ukraine.

They discussed the situation of the Rohingya. Indonesia appreciated the facilitation given by Myanmar to the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre. The EU is a major humanitarian donor to the Rohingya, and continues to support Myanmar's democratic transition and development while expecting the issues of accountability and root causes to also be addressed.

The Dialogue addressed the topic of palm oil, whereby the EU recalled its commitment to inclusive and practical policy dialogue, including in the context of ASEAN, focusing on sustainable palm oil that can be certified to high international standards.

The delegation of the European Union was headed by Mr Jean-Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service. The delegation from the Republic of Indonesia was led by Mr Yuri Thamrin, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the EU.