Both countries reaffirmed to develop and strengthen the future-oriented bilateral partnership based on the principle of equality, mutual respect, and beneficial for both ends. On the series of the visit's events, both countries signed a memorandum of understand (MoU) on the Fisheries Cooperation.
The Indonesian government was represented by the Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Sharif C. Sutardjo, while the on the Dutch end was represented by the Minister of Agriculture, Sharon Djiksma. The MoU signing witnessed by both countries' presidents was held in Merdeka Palace.
Anang Noegroho, MMAF's Director of Center of Analysis for International and Institutional Cooperation in Jakarta said: "Today (21 November), the Dutch Minister of Agriculture is scheduled to make an official state to the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in the framework of discussing the Netherlands-Indonesia fishery cooperation follow-up in which the Indonesian government encourages the Dutch government to develop the sustainable fishery."
Mr Noegroho explained that the cooperation is on the framework of the Working Group on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (WGAFF). It aims to enhance the ease and availibility of access to the safe and qualified fishery products in the domestic market.
The cooperation is planned to be run in three work packages - the reduction of capture fisheries post-harvest losses through the handling practices, enhancing the aquaculture product based on the sustainability and the Good Aquaculture Practices (GAP), and improving the fishery product distribution and marketing.
"The cooperation is also to enhance the fishery product value added for the domestic market, raise the public awareness on the importance of the fish consumption, to upgrade the lab capability, particularly the private-held labs, in order to improve the analysis output on the fishery quality control, and the make a better fishery product quality control for the domestic market," said the Director.
The 16th WGAFF Summit held in The Hague, 31 October - 1 November 2013, examined the cooperation and development of food traceability, capacity building inspection fishery products, Value Capture Fishery, and Fish Data Collection Analysis.
