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| Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Gandi Sulistiyanto speaks during a media briefing at his residence in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Embassy of Indonesia in Korea |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
During an annual media briefing at the ambassador's residence in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday, Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Gandi Sulistiyanto addressed two main themes: Indonesia's chairmanship of ASEAN this year and the 50th anniversary of Korea-Indonesia diplomatic relations.
Ambassador Sulistiyanto highlighted that the 50th anniversary of Indonesia-Korea friendship centered on people-to-people exchanges for the development of stronger relations, shared understandings and strengthened government-to-government, business-to-business ties.
Sulistiyanto, who serves as the Chair for the ASEAN Committee in Seoul as of January 2023, introduced the theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" for Indonesia's ASEAN chairmanship. It is based on three main pillars: ASEAN Matters, ASEAN as the epicenter of growth and the implementation of the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
"Indonesia proposed several initiatives to strengthen ASEAN. The first is to strengthen ASEAN's readiness to address current and future challenges," he said.
"For the epicenter of growth, Indonesia will focus on four main aspects: strengthening ASEAN's health architecture, food security, energy security and financial stability."
The ambassador noted that in terms of energy security, it is crucial to support the transition from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy, including developing an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem.
"Indonesia is now developing the EV ecosystem and it is supported fully by Korea. Hyundai and other Korean companies invested in my country and also other ASEAN countries to establish the ecosystem of electric vehicles," Sulistiyanto said, explaining that the Korean automobile giant will release a limited edition of the IONIQ 5 in Indonesia featuring "batik," a traditional Indonesian textile, later this year.
In line with the theme of "Closer Friendship, Stronger Partnership" which marks 50 years of Korea-Indonesia diplomatic relations, Ambassador Sulistiyanto emphasized the significance of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries in addition to exchanges between governments and private sectors.
"Nowadays, there are more Koreans visiting Indonesia, three times more compared to Indonesians visiting Korea. That means we should improve the attraction of Korea to more Indonesians. This is my job," Sulistiyanto said, adding that he has been in talks with Korean officials to establish a visa-free policy for Indonesians.
The ambassador also said, to celebrate the occasions, the Indonesian Embassy plans to organize various activities throughout the year, including talks, economic forums and cultural events.
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| From left, Laos Ambassador Songkane Luangmuninthone, Brunei Ambassador Pg Hjh Nooriyah PLW Pg Hj Yussof, Cambodian Ambassador Chring Botum Rangsay, Indonesian Ambassador Gandi Sulistiyanto, Director-General for ASEAN and Southeast Asian Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-hae, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung and Timor-Leste Ambassador Gregorio de Sousa, do the ASEAN handshake during a media briefing at the Indonesian ambassador's residence in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Embassy of Indonesia in Korea |
Other envoys from ASEAN member states also attended the event to celebrate Indonesia's ASEAN chairmanship. Also taking part in the event was the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Korea, Gregorio de Sousa. Timor-Leste is on its way to becoming ASEAN's 11th member state.
During the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits last November, the leaders of ASEAN agreed in principle to admit Timor-Leste as the 11th member and granted observer status to Timor-Leste with the ability to participate in all ASEAN meetings.
Ambassador of Cambodia to Korea Chring Botum Rangsay addressed the Myanmar situation from the ASEAN perspective as the ASEAN leaders acknowledged the complexity of the political crisis in Myanmar and the implementation of the five-point consensus during the summit last November.
"It will take time to reach a long-lasting political settlement ... In the meeting (the leaders) agreed that the engagement of all concerned parties should be intensified in an inclusive and flexible manner and in accordance with the ASEAN charter," ambassador Chring said.
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