| Indonesia, Argentina discuss lifting beef import ban |
JAKARTA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia and Argentina have discussed the possibility of lifting Jakarta's ban on beef imports from Argentina during recent bilateral talks in Buenos Aires, local press said Wednesday.
The Indonesian delegation at the talks, which were referred to as "Bilateral Political Consultations", was headed by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's Director General of American and European Affairs, Eddhi Hariyadhi, reported English daily The Jakarta Post.
The Argentinean delegation was headed by its Vice Minister of foreign affairs Roberto Garcia Moritan.
Indonesia imposed a ban on beef imports from various countries, including Argentina, in 1992 due to the existence of foot and mouth disease (FMD) and mad cow disease in those countries.
But Argentina says FMD, which was only detected in an isolated area, is under control. It is already exporting beef to Europe and the U.S.
"FMD can't be transmitted from animals to human beings. We have been exporting beef to so many countries. We look forward to Indonesia's decision," Argentinean Embassy's Charge d'Affaires, Alicia Falkowski Morchio, was quoted as saying.
In the Buenos Aires meeting, both delegations "analyzed progress made in commercial air transport, the possibility for the ban on beef imports from Argentina to be lifted and the exchange of dairy products, as well as discussing projects in the naval industry, urban waste recycling and the conversion of Jakarta's public transport to CNG (compressed natural gas)," the Argentinean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship said in a statement.
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