Portugal Ambassador pays courtesy call to VP

Jakarta-wapresri.go.id. Vice President Jusuf Kalla received Ambassador of the Portuguese Republic to Indonesia Rui Fernando Sucena do Carmo at the Office of the Vice President on Jalan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta on Wednesday (Feb. 8).

The visit was a courtesy visit of the new Portugal Ambassador to the Vice President after last January he handed over a Letter of Credentials to President Jokowi in the Merdeka Palace.

At the meeting, Rui Carmo, who was born in Angola and had spent some of his time as a representative of the Portuguese Republic in the European and Caribbean regions, said his mission in Indonesia is to revitalize the political contacts between the two countries.

The Vice President in response welcomed and congratulated Ambassador Rui Carmo for his new post in Indonesia, which is his first mission in Southeast Asia region.

He then appreciated the good relationship that exists between Indonesia and Portugal after their diplomatic ties was reopened in the end of the 1990s.

“Although we experienced ups and downs, we could eventually resolve it amicably,” said the Vice President.

The Vice President further hoped, in the future the two countries can build better cooperation and support each other in the international fora, especially to realize a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the EU and Indonesia.

Portugal, he added, is expected to provide support so that the agreement can be signed in the mid of 2017.

“Indonesia and the EU have formally conducted negotiations since the end of July 2016. It is expected that the agreement would be beneficial to both parties and reflect trade and investment which is free and fair,” argued the vice president.

Ambassador Carmo welcomed the idea and promised to immediately communicate it to Lisbon.

He also said that one of his tasks is to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of investment and tourism.

“I hope that the Indonesian businessmen can invest in Portugal and we will also encourage Portugal business players to invest in Indonesia,” said Carmo.

In the field of tourism, Carmo added, there were approximately 25,000 Portuguese people in total rating of Portugal who came to Bali in 2015.

Carmo then invited the Indonesian people to travel to Portugal.

“Portugal has fresh and warm air, although it is situated on the European Continent. Similar to Indonesia, Portugal is also well-known for its friendly citizens to foreign tourists,” he said.

Accompanying the Vice President in the meeting were Head of the Secretariat of the Vice-President Mohamad Oemar and Deputy to the Vice President on Government Policy Support Dewi Fortuna Anwar.