Trotoar.id, Makassar — ​​​​​​​​Vice Chairman of Commission V DPR RI, Andi Iwan Darmawan Aras (AIA), participant Bilateral consultation forum Indonesia-Canada to be held in Ottawa, Canada on July 20, 2024.

In this forum, Andi Iwan Darmawan Aras met with representatives Parliament Canada represented by Senator Clément Gignac.

“Yes, I currently represent Canada DPR RI to attend the Bilateral Cooperation Forum between Indonesian and Canadian Parliamentary Institutions,” said Andi Iwan Darmawan Aras.

This cooperation forum follows the long-standing bilateral relations between Indonesia and Canada.

On this occasion, the AIA conveyed several important points which will become joint actions between the two countries, particularly in the areas of politics, defense and security, economy, development, social culture , science, technology and education.

“We discussed several topics during the meeting, including politics, education, development, culture and technological development,” the AIA explained.

This meeting is part of the cooperation initiated since 1997, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Ali Alatas, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Lloyd Axworthy, signed a joint declaration on the creation of a bilateral consultation forum. .

This forum forms the basis on which Indonesia and Canada organize various cooperation frameworks in the political, economic and socio-cultural fields.

The first meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Forum took place in May 2011 in Ottawa, while the second meeting was held in Yogyakarta in June 2012.

These two meetings marked the first step in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

In 2012, at the height of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Canada, the two countries signed a joint declaration on intensifying bilateral consultations.

This declaration elevates the Bilateral Consultation Forum to a more strategic level, where the forum will be held at ministerial level regularly every year if possible.

Bilateral relations between Indonesia and Canada subsequently evolved into a more comprehensive partnership through the launch of the Indonesia-Canada Action Plan 2014-2019, which was launched at the 4th meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Forum in August 2015 in Jakarta.

This action plan serves as a roadmap to improve bilateral relations in various strategic areas.