INDONESIA, MALDIVES STEP UP COOPERATION IN TOURISM by Fardah

Jakarta, June 29, 2017 (Antara) - As archipelagic countries, Indonesia and Maldives share common interest in tourism sector and concerns over climate change impacts.

          Indonesia has more than 17 thousand islands, while Maldives has nearly 1.2 thousand. 
    The two countries have been blessed with white sandy beaches having crystal clear turquoise waters where various species of coral reefs and fish live abundantly.

        Almost similar to Indonesia, tourism is the largest economic industry in the Maldives, as it plays an important role in earning foreign exchange revenues and generating employment.

        Climate change, however, has threatened the two countries as some of their low-lying islands are being flooded by rising sea levels. Climate change may wipe some of their islands off the map.

        Therefore, bilateral cooperation in tourism and climate change were among issues discussed by Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her guest, Foreign Minister of Maldives Mohamed Asim, in Jakarta on June 21, 2017.

         "Maldives is famous for its tourism, and Indonesia also has a huge potential in tourism sector," Marsudi said.

         They agreed to share experiences in developing the tourism sector and its promotional strategy.   
    Based on data from tradingeconomics.com, tourist arrivals in Maldives increased to 119,774 in April from 112,665 in March 2017. Tourist Arrivals in Maldives averaged 99,803,25 per month from 2012 until 2017, reaching an all-time high of 125,336 in January 2017 and a record low of 59,379 in June 2012.

          Maldives, which has become the world's most popular tourism destination, has been developing hotels, in which most of the decorating furniture are from Indonesia.

          Moreover, around 1.4 thousand Indonesian citizen are working in Maldives, most of them in the tourism industry.

         Meanwhile, statistic showed that 3,452 Indonesian tourists had visited Maldives in 2015, whereas 1,907 Maldivians had come to Indonesia in the same year.

        During the bilateral meeting, both ministers also discussed their commitment in the context of the Paris Agreement to counter climate change.

        They expressed their concern that as archipelagic countries, both are prone to the climate change that might affect its environment, people's livelihood, as well as its tourism industry.

        The Maldives is the lowest-lying country in the world, with its highest natural ground height of only 2.4 meters and 80 per cent of the landmass at 1 meter or less above sea level.

        The Maldives is concerned about the threat posed by climate change and has been active internationally to bring attention to the issue.

        Besides, both ministers also discussed the opportunity to improve cooperation in connectivity.

        As a south Asian country in the Indian Ocean, Maldives has planned to improve connectivity among its islands.

        Therefore, Minister Asim visited Indonesian aircraft manufacturer PT DI to see what the company could help improving connectivity in Maldives.

         The minister also held a meeting with Indonesian Minister of Maritime and Fishery Susi Pudjiastuti to discuss cooperation in marine and fishery sector.

        Maldives has become one of Indonesia's important trade partners.

        Indonesia's export commodity to Maldives are construction material, sports equipment, perfumes, glassware, food products, and handicrafts, whereas Maldives mostly exports its fish to Indonesia.

        In 2016, trade volume between Indonesia and Maldives reached US$ 39.3 million. Statistic showed that during 2010-2016 period, the trade volume between the two countries had experience an increase of around 12.21 percent each year.    
    "We see Maldives as a potential market. Although the current bilateral trade value is relatively small, the tourism value is potentially great," Foreign Ministry's spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters recently.

        The two nations also agreed to increase cooperation in technical cooperation in several sectors such as in disaster management, fishery, democracy, good governance, and television.

        The bilateral meeting was the second meeting for Marsudi and Asim after they had met at Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) in 2016. Maldives has attended BDF seven times and committed to participated again this year. 
   The Republic of Maldives is an archipelago of 1,192 coral islands located 400 kilometers south-west of India in the Indian Ocean. The islands form 26 natural atolls that are grouped into 19 administrative units.

        It has a population of approximately 394 thousand people living on 200 of these islands, although this figure includes a sizeable number of expatriate workers.

        Maldives became a republic in 1968, three years after independence but remained a member of the Commonwealth until 2016.

        Indonesia and Maldives established diplomatic relations on September 2, 1974. Indonesia was the 22nd country to establish diplomatic relations with Maldives. ***3***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 29-06-2017