Ministers from South Africa and Indonesia

Members of the Media,

I wish to thank President Widodo for inviting me to visit Indonesia.

South Africa and Indonesia share a very strong historical bond of friendship that stretches back to the sixteen hundreds, when the first people of Indonesian descent arrived on South Africa’s shores, as slaves of the Dutch.

Both Indonesia and South Africa were still under Dutch colonial rule then.

Our relations were further strengthened over many decades, with Indonesia playing a key role in supporting South Africa’s struggle for freedom and justice.

We have had successful talks this morning. We are pleased that we have met coincidentally on International Women’s Day, given the need to improve the lives and status of women as we strengthen our bilateral relations.

We have agreed to strengthen our cooperation in business, trade and investment, agriculture, and defence, and to work towards removing trade barriers between our countries.

The Plan of Action 2017-2021 document, signed by our respective Foreign Ministers today, will act as a guide to drive our bilateral relations forward, into the future.

We agreed to accelerate the conclusion of Agreements that are still under discussion by our two countries.

We have also agreed to work together to realise the aspirations of the countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) which met this week here in Jakarta. We congratulate President Widodo on the excellent arrangements for the Summit and his capable leadership of the Association and the Summit.

We have also updated each other on developments in our respective regions, and explored areas of possible cooperation further.

We agreed to continue discussions on multilateral issues of mutual concern.

We have agreed especially to consult and cooperate in the United Nations, and other global formations that we both belong to.

This will ensure that we continue to work towards a more democratic and equitable global governance system.

We have urged our Ministers to drive the processes in taking our relationship to the next level.

We have had a successful and wonderful stay in Indonesia. We look forward to deeper and stronger relations between the two countries going forward.

I thank you.

Source: The Presidency Republic of South Africa