Indonesia-India to Have Vaccinated Travel Lane to Support Economic Recovery

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesia and India are discussing the possible establishment of a particular travel lane as a mean to accelerate safe mobility to support economic activities during the pandemic. The discussion on the idea took place as leaders from the two countries met at the G20 Summit in Rome, Italy on Sunday, 31 October 2021.

President Joko Widodo proposed the creation of a vaccinated travel lane (VTL) and the recognition of vaccine certificates issued in both countries during the meeting with his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to him, the two initiatives will firmly yet safely encourage economic recovery as Covid-19 situation in both countries gets better.

In addition to that, Widodo also urged PM Modi to start the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) negotiation that will strengthen bilateral cooperation on trade and investment post-pandemic.

“PTA is highly important for trade improvement and diversification, in order [for us] to achieve the US$50 million trade target by 2025. I also hope the two-way investment can be encouraged,” Widodo quoted by Setkab.go.id.

Health Sector Is Also a Priority

Besides discussing economic opportunities, President Widodo and PM Modi also explored collaborative prospects in the health sector, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Cooperation on the production of raw materials for medicines and capacity enhancement between pharmaceutical companies in the two countries are among some of the options discussed.

“Aside from raw materials for medicines, our cooperation on vaccine development should also continue,” Widodo added.

In the discussion, the Indonesian president also expressed his intention to continue the current partnership with India in various sectors, including in the Covid-19 pandemic handling.

“The positive development [related to Covid-19 situation] is a result of our bilateral relationship on Covid-19 handling. It is Indonesia’s commitment to continue the strategic and comprehensive partnership with India,” he concluded.