Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Indonesia is seeking to secure a board membership with the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, for the 2020-2021 period. Government officials have been lobbying several countries to support Indonesia's nomination at the 31st plenary meeting of the IMO in London this week.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has been meeting with his foreign counterparts to gain support for the nomination on the sidelines of the plenary meeting, which began on Monday.
On Tuesday, Budi met with Sweden's Infrastructure Minister, Thomas Eneroth, for a spot of lobbying following a bilateral talk. "Support from Sweden would also strengthen cooperation between the two countries," Budi said in a statement on Wednesday.
Indonesia and Sweden signed a letter of intent for a cooperation in developing human resources for air, land and sea transportation in May 2019.
Sweden is well-known for its expertise in developing innovative technology for light rapid transport (LRT), train locomotive and high-speed train.At the London meeting, Budi said Indonesia had made a commitment to improve maritime safety and security.
"We will apply regulations that have been issued by the IMO to limit the use of sulphur in boat fuels by 2020. We are actively involved in two projects, the MEPSEAS and Glofouling Partnership," Budi said on Tuesday.
Budi said the commitment will include improving efforts to strengthen the country's human resources.
"Improving the capacity of our human resources is the main priority of President Joko Widodo's government. To that end, we will continue our cooperation with the IMO through the Technical Cooperation Program," Budi said.
Early in November, Indonesia organized and hosted a Non-Conventional Vessel Standard course with an eye on strengthening South to South cooperation.
The course was attended by participants from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Fiji, Kenya and East Timor.