Chairperson of the Indonesia – Romania Parliamentary Friendship Group Nurul Arifin speaks during a virtual meeting with the Chairman of the Friendship Parliamentary Group with the Republic of Indonesia Stefan Musoiu at the Nusantara III Building, Parliamentary Complex on Monday (7/6/2021). Photo: Arief/Man

In a virtual meeting with the Chairman of the Friendship Parliamentary Group with the Republic of Indonesia Stefan Musoiu at the Nusantara III Building, parliamentary complex on Monday (7/6/2021), Chairperson of the Indonesia – Romania Parliamentary Friendship Group Nurul Arifin focussed on economy, tourism, sports, culture, and education as those sectors are considered priority sectors for the two countries’ cooperation.  

While also expressing appreciation to her counterpart for initiating the meeting, Arifin stated that from the economic perspective, Romania has the potential to be a gate of entry for Indonesian commodities into the European market, especially for palm oil commodities. "Romania can make Indonesia a hub to the ASEAN region," she said. 

Arifin explained that parliamentary diplomacy exercised by the Indonesian House plays a vital role in supporting the progress of bilateral relations between the two countries. "Parliamentary diplomacy plays an essential role, especially in a country where the parliament has a function to determine the direction of government policy through legislation, budgeting, and oversight," explained the West Java Politician. 

In addition to economic collaboration, the meeting also discussed the potential cooperation in tourism, considering that Indonesia and Romania have unique natural attractions. Furthermore, she also believed Indonesia could also explore cooperation in the culture and education sectors. 

"In this challenging time due to the global pandemic, cooperation between countries plays a significant role. We need to promote bilateral and even multilateral relations by engaging various existing channels," Arifin asserted. In principle, the House committed to supporting collaboration and cooperation between the Indonesian and the Romanian Parliaments in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) forum and other parliamentary forums. 

It is important to note that the cooperation between Indonesia and Romania has existed for a long time. The total trade volume between the two countries until August 2020 recorded a value of 101.37 million US dollars. Meanwhile, Romania’s investment in Indonesia from 2018 - 2020 recorded 11 projects in various business sectors. 

Indonesia’s main exports to Romania are raw rubber, cocoa, coffee, tea, palm oil, spices, electronic products and spare parts, textiles, leather, and plastic base materials. Meanwhile, Indonesia's main imports from Romania include machinery, mineral and chemical products, metallurgy, oil and gas equipment, and industrial equipment. (ah/ice)