Brussels, July 13 (IANS) President of the European Union Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed the Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday, marking their first meeting in Brussels.

Leyen talked about the commonalities between the EU and Indonesia, both being vibrant and diverse democracies.

“Indonesia’s national motto is ‘Unity in diversity’, one of our core sentences in the European Union is ‘United in diversity’. So we share common values and ambitions,” she said.

Leyen also pointed out their commitment to the clean energy transition, expressing the need for partner countries to come together in the times of ‘economic uncertainty’ and ‘geopolitical volatility’.

One of the three key areas of partnership between the EU and Indonesia is trade, where both the countries have signed an ‘ambitious’ free trade agreement. It is a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, CEPA, which came into being after 10 years of continuous negotiations, leading to the achievement of a breakthrough.

Talking to X, the EU Commission President said, “President Prabowo Subianto and I have reached a political agreement to advance the EU- Indonesia free trade agreement.”

The next key area that Leyen talked about was Geopolitics and Security, discussing raising their relationship to the level of a strategic partnership, which in turn would mean a long-term commitment, based on trust, reciprocity, and mutual benefit.

The final and the last area to take the EU- Indonesia partnership forward, the EU Commission President talked about the connections between their people, who, according to her, should be the first to benefit from the stronger ties.

“So I am pleased to announce that the European Commission has adopted a decision on the visa cascade. It means that from now on, Indonesian nationals visiting the EU for a second time will be eligible for multi-entry Schengen visas,” she said.

–IANS

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