Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Indonesian president calls for ASEAN travel corridor process

Indonesian president calls for ASEAN travel corridor process

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
The international terminal area of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport remains empty with no arrivals, on Thursday. THE JAKARTA POST

Indonesian president calls for ASEAN travel corridor process

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on October 25 called on Southeast Asian nations to “reactivate safe travel” to help the region’s economy recover, as the Covid-19 situation begins to improve in some countries.

He said the ASEAN travel corridor arrangement framework, initiated by Indonesia last year to facilitate the resumption of essential travel in the region, “needs to be implemented immediately”.

This could be achieved through the recognition of vaccination certificates issued by ASEAN nations and travel lanes for inoculated travellers with negative Covid-19 tests on arrival, among other things, the Indonesian leader said via video link at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

“With the Covid-19 situation getting under control, these restrictions can be reduced,” Jokowi told ASEAN leaders as well as business and thought leaders.

“If all ASEAN countries immediately facilitate the mobility of people safely, the wheels of the economy can move again.”

He stressed that healthcare must remain the top priority, and the vaccination target of 70 per cent of the population in ASEAN countries “must be achieved as soon as possible”.

He urged ASEAN countries to work together to “accelerate and equalise vaccination” in the short term, and develop health crisis protocols in the medium term to ensure that the region becomes more resilient to future health crises.

Jokowi said Indonesia will gradually reopen parts of the country where full Covid-19 vaccination of two doses exceed 70 per cent.

Currently, more than 32 per cent of Indonesia’s target population is fully vaccinated.

Bali reopened to foreign visitors on October 14 for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic early last year.

Strict health protocols include a mandatory eight-day quarantine at the travellers’ own expense. The president said the popular resort island was reopened after 84.9 per cent of the population there had been fully vaccinated.

Indonesia is currently the worst hit by Covid-19 in South-east Asia, with daily infections exceeding 50,000 at its peak in July, largely due to mass travel during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid al-Fitr) Muslim holiday and the spread of the Delta variant.

Cases have since fallen following social curbs put in place in mid-July. As of October 25, total infections stood at 4.24 million, and deaths 143,235.

At the virtual summit on October 25, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is confident that two-way trade between the United Kingdom and ASEAN – totalling some £40 billion ($55 billion) annually before the pandemic – will rise in coming years.“As we all seek to build back better from coronavirus, I want to see that figure rise further still. And I’m sure it will because global Britain is once again open to the world,” he said in a pre-recorded video.

His speech followed the UK being made the first new dialogue partner of ASEAN in 25 years.

The transition period following Britain’s withdrawal from the EU expired on January 1 this year, with Johnson seeking to create a more agile “Global Britain”.

Johnson said on October 25: “We’re embracing new partners and reacquainting ourselves with old friends.

“We’re negotiating ambitious and wide-ranging free-trade deals with a degree of speed and efficacy that few thought possible. And we’re pioneering high-tech frontiers, with a new ASEAN-UK Digital Innovation Partnership underpinned by our Digital Trade Network.”

THE STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • CP denied registration documents by ministry

    The Ministry of Interior will not reissue registration documents to the Candlelight Party (CP). Following a September 21 meeting between ministry secretary of state Bun Honn and CP representatives, the ministry cited the fact that there is no relevant law which would authorise it to do

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument

  • Cambodian diaspora laud Manet’s UN Assembly visit

    Members of the Cambodian diaspora are rallying in support of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s forthcoming visit to the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) in the US’ New York City this week. Their move is an apparent response to a recent call by self-exiled former