RI Signs Free Visa Agreement with Colombia

Nusa Dua, Bali (Antara) - The Government of Indonesia signed a free visa agreement with the Republic of Colombia here on Monday for the holders of service and diplomatic passports. "For that cooperation we always start from diplomatic passport and then regular passport," the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Director General for America and Europe Dian Triansyah Djani said here on Tuesday. He said the number of diplomatic and service passports was small but that of the regular passport is big so the free visa agreement for the holders of regular passports needed more coordination. Dian said he represented the Indonesian government to sign the free visa agreement with Colombian Ambassador to Indonesia Alfonso Garzon Mendez. "Besides with the Republic of Colombia, we will do the same thing in the future with other Latin American countries, because the more the movement of people, the more cooperation in various fields will increase," he said. Further, he noted that the agreement was expected to encourage stronger interaction and mutual visit between government officials of both countries to step up bilateral relations in various fields. Dian said his meeting with the representative of the Colombian government was intended to coordinate the foreign ministerial meeting of the Forum for East Asian and Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) from June 13-14, 2013 in Bali. "Indonesia and Colombia for the past two years have been the joint committee for the 6th foreign ministerial meeting of FEALAC. Indonesia represents Asian group which is made up of 16 countries while Colombia represents 20 Latin American countries," he said. (*)