EU Adds Grant to Two Hospitals to Handle Pandemic

Jakarta, InfoPublik - The Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission (HR/VP), will pay a courtesy call on President Joko Widodo.

“This is his first visit to Indonesia since his inauguration in 2019," Minister Retno told in a press release after a meeting with HR/VP Josep Borell in Jakarta on Wednesday, 2 June. "Besides having a meeting with me, he will pay courtesy calls on the President, Defense Minister, and the House of Representatives Commission I Speaker.”

Minister Retno and HR/VP Borrell will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between EU and KfW Germany on an additional grant of EUR10 million (Rp174.4 billion).

The grant will be channeled to two university hospitals in South Sulawesi and East Java to increase their capacity in handling COVID-19 and other pandemics in the future.

KfW, previously known as KfW Bankengruppe, is a German development and investment bank based in Frankfurt. 

"This is not our first meeting". "During the pandemic, telephone communication often takes place to discuss regional and international issues,” said Minister Retno.

The meeting also discussed several issues, among others, global cooperation in pandemic handling by providing access to vaccines; economic cooperation; and regional and international issues, such as the Indo-Pacific, Myanmar, and Palestine issues.

(Photo: Foreign Affairs Ministry, Writer: Eko Budiono, Editor: Wawan Budiyanto, Translator: Filmon Leonard Warouw)