High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell to visit Indonesia and ASEAN

From Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 June, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell will visit Indonesia. He will hold discussions with the Indonesian government and will have meetings at the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The visit demonstrates the EU's wish to deepen relations with Indonesia, one of the world's largest democracies and economies, which will hold the G20 Presidency in 2022 and the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023. The visit also comes in light of the upgrade of EU-ASEAN relations to a Strategic Partnership, the recent adoption of Council Conclusions on an EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and ongoing efforts to address the military coup and the ensuing political crisis in Myanmar.

In Jakarta, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell will meet President Joko Widodo, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi as well as Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto. He will also have meetings at the Indonesian Parliament with Meutya Hafid, Chair of the Commission on Foreign Relations, and Fadli Zon, Chairman of the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation. The High Representative and Foreign Minister Marsudi will deliver joint press statements after their meeting on 2 June, which will be broadcast on EbS. On the agenda will be the deepening of EU-Indonesian relations, international cooperation to combat the coronavirus pandemic through effective multilateralism, and plans for economic recovery. The High Representative will also discuss with his interlocutors a range of regional and international security issues, both in South-East Asia and beyond.

While in Indonesia, the High Representative will also meet the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Lim Jock Hoi, and the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives. They are expected to discuss how to further the EU-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, launched on 1 December 2020, through concrete action, in order to address challenges faced both by ASEAN and the EU. He will then visit the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance.

During his visit, the High Representative will inaugurate the new premises of the EU Delegation to Indonesia and, following the enhancement of EU-ASEAN relations to a strategic partnership, oversee the official upgrade of the EU Mission to ASEAN to a fully-fledged EU Delegation. On 3 June, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell will give a speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies on the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The speech will be broadcast on EbS and via EEAS social media channels.

Audiovisual footage of the visit will be provided by Europe by Satellite.

Website of the EU Mission to ASEAN

Website of the EU Delegation to Indonesia and Brunei