India, Indonesia ponders cruise tourism circuit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Jakarta and talks are already on to develop a cruise tourism circuit between Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Indonesia as part of steps to bolster bilateral ties.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari met Luhut Binser Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs of Indonesia, and discussed ways to take ahead bilateral relations between the countries. Developing a cruise tourism circuit between Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Indonesia and thus implementing Govt of India’s vision to put India on the global cruise market both for ocean & river cruises under its Sagarmala programme was highlighted in the meeting.
The Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs, Republic of Indonesia, General (Retd.) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan meeting the Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, in New Delhi.
Ahead of the visit of the Prime Minister to Jakarta in May 2018, General (Retd.) Pandjaitan, who is on a 2-day visit to India met Gadkari to discuss bilateral cooperation in the maritime sector between the two countries. The bilateral talks covered a wide range of topics including river rejuvenation, wastewater treatment, generating revenue streams from waste, enhancing shipping linkages between the two countries, developing ports and airports, training on light house technology and development of navigational aids.
It was decided by both Ministers to take up these areas of work in a proactive manner by arranging for exchange of information soon and establishing contact between technical teams on both sides. It was also decided that technical teams from Indonesia would visit India at the earliest to look at the experience of the Indian side on Ganga rejuvenation, development of National Waterways and training in the maritime sector.
The meeting was attended by a 10-member high level delegation comprising senior officials of Department of Maritime Affairs, Indonesia, Chairman of Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Ambassador of Indonesia to New Delhi along with senior officials from the Ministry of Shipping.
