Jakarta. South Korea's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha is visiting Indonesia for a third joint commission meeting in Jakarta on April 7-8 to discuss the possibility of creating more economic and cultural partnerships between the two countries.  

The meeting is an official follow-up to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to Seoul in September last year.

"We elevated the Indonesia-South Korea bilateral relationship to a 'special strategic partnership' back in 2007. Now we want to see how far the agreement has been implemented," Desra Percaya, Indonesian foreign affairs ministry's Asia Pacific and Africa director, said last week. 

Desra said there will be more talks between the two countries on economic partnerships, trade, investment, workforce, maritime, forestry, health, infrastructure, development and migrant worker protection.

They will also hold meetings to discuss regional and international political situation and negotiate a comprehensive Indonesia-South Korea economic partnership.

"Up until February this year, there were 36,000 Indonesian migrant workers and 42,000 Indonesians living in South Korea. That's quite a big number. There's a need to improve protection for our migrant workers," Desra said.

Women, Peace and Security 

Indonesia and South Korea will also hold a regional peace and security training for women on April 8-10, with an aim to mainstream women's roles in the peace process, including in conflict prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding.

The Indonesia-led training will involve women from all Asean member countries and women from Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste.

"We want to change the way women in the region are viewed, not just as victims but also as agents of peace who can play an important role in peace processes," foreign affairs ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said.

"This is an initiative from Indonesia, one that was thought up by the foreign minister [Retno Marsudi], and inspired by our extensive experience in the last four years in helping to resolve conflicts in our region and beyond," Arrmanatha said.

Indonesia has been active in peacebuilding efforts in Myanmar's Rakhine State and in Afghanistan, among others, in the period that Arrmanatha mentioned.

The training will follow the guidelines set up in the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which emphasizes the importance of the role of women in peacebuilding.

The Asean Institute of Peace and Reconciliation will also be involved in organizing the event. 

On Monday, the Indonesian and South Korean foreign ministers will also speak at the "Millennial Talks with Madame Secretaries" event held at the Indonesian foreign affairs ministry headquarters in Pejambon, Central Jakarta.

"We hope to inspire millennial women and educate them on the challenges and opportunities that they will encounter as working women," said the ministry's law and human rights head, Caka A. Awal.

The event will also provide up-to-date information on Indonesia-South Korea bilateral relations, and regional and global issues, tailored to young people. 

"Both our foreign ministers are women. They should be an inspiration to millennial women in both Indonesia and South Korea," Caka said.

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