Indonesia has agreed to establish a travel corridor with South Korea to facilitate “essential business and diplomatic trips” between both countries amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesia Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that she and South Korea Foreign Affairs Minister Jiang Qinghua had finalized arrangements for the tourist corridor on Wednesday (August 12) evening.

Ms. Retno Marsudi said in her statement during an online press conference on Thursday (August 13), “I hereby announce that the essential business travel corridor arrangement with South Korea has been agreed upon and will be inaugurated on Aug. 17, coinciding with Indonesia’s 75th Independence Day.”

“I would like to reiterate that the travel corridor with South Korea is intended for essential business people and members of the diplomatic community, not tourists,” she further added.

According to her statements, the agreement with South Korea took longer to finalize because both countries are eager to ensure strict compliance with health protocols against COVID-19. Only essential state officials and industry stakeholders may be allowed to use the travel corridor.

The agreement is expected to grant leeway for state departments and businesses in both countries to enable them to resume and reconnect projects that had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while still complying with health protocols.

The government of Indonesia has also finalized a similar agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the last month. The agreement allowed industry stakeholders and state officials to go on essential trips between the both countries.

In regard to COVID-19 transmission in Indonesia, the country has reported a total number of 1,37,468 confirmed cases and 6,071 deaths caused by virus. However, 91,321 patients tested positive to COVID-19 have completely recovered, as of Sunday (August 16).