MYANMAR citizens intending to travel to Indonesia are still required to obtain a visa in advance, despite recent reports to the contrary (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 12).
D Jumara Supriyadi, third secretary at the Indonesian embassy in Yangon, explained that the proposed bilateral visa-free system would only come into effect if the Myanmar government introduced similar concessions for Indonesian nationals travelling to Myanmar.
“As of now both Myanmar and Indonesian citizens still need a visa to travel between the two countries,” said Supriyadi. “The operation of this regulation needs very much the same commitment from the Myanmar government, which we believe they will do.”
According to Supriyadi, the visa-free initiative was launched in July “in an effort to contribute positively in pushing forward the implementation of the ASEAN vision to establish the ASEAN Community in 2015”.
“The Myanmar government will be ready to discuss and decide the matter at the next bilateral meeting during the next second Indonesia-Myanmar Joint Commission, which we plan to hold at the end of this year in Myanmar,” Supriyadi added.
