Monday, November 14, 2011

ASEAN Visa Joint Agreed Plan

Nusa Dua, the ASEAN Summit - ASEAN countries agreed to finalize the implementation plan of the ASEAN Common Visa (Visa Together) which is expected in 2012 entered the stage of recommendation.

"Discourse Visa Joint ASEAN become one of the main discussion in the ASEAN Senior Offial Preparatory Meeting (ASEAN SOM) for further discussion at the ASEAN ministerial level," said the Ambassador to ASEAN, I Gede Ngurah Swajaya after attending the ASEAN SOM within the framework of the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, Monday (14/11).

According to the Ngurah recommendations besama ASEAN visa application is done through formal study in depth about various things like the system on-line visa application coordination among ASEAN countries, including the anticipated constraints and its application, as well as the negative impact caused.

He explains virtually all countries agreed that the implementation of this Joint Visa will benefit because it can increase the amount of tourism to the respective ASEAN countries. "Along with encouraging the growth of the number of Visa travelers in this region, but how to minimize the negative impact ... it's to be done," he said.

ASEAN Joint Visa discourse emerged since the year 2009 at a meeting of the Director General of Immigration and Consular South-East Asia, but by then the concept is not considered urgent because there are many constraints related to the implementation in each country such as immigration, aspects of security, border management, as well as aspects financially.

Indeed expressed Ngurah, the implementation of the Joint Visa already had agreed on the level of Senior Official Meeting (SOM) ASEAN's just waiting for the result of the recommendation which is then submitted to the ASEAN leaders for approval. "In principle the Joint Visa already received approval, but it takes time to elaborate further so that in its application how not to violate the existing provisions in each country," he said.

Yet Ngurah can not ensure the implementation of the Joint Visa, because it must go through various stages of further discussion.

He simply explained that the Joint Visa is the "ASEAN Connectivity" which can menginterkoneksi ASEAN countries both in terms of basic infrastructure related to transportation by land, sea and air so as to encourage interaction between residents, tourism, investment and trade.

Related to possible negative impact of the Joint Visa application form of increased transnational crime (transnational crime), Ngurah said all policies have an effect. But what about the negative impacts of reduced impact so it is more beneficial to all parties.