Ambassador Ta Van Thong shared about the Vietnam-Indonesia relationship on the occasion of Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan attending the inauguration ceremony of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
At the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan will attend the inauguration ceremony of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and conduct a number of bilateral activities in Indonesia from October 19-21.
On this occasion, Ambassador Ta Van Thong gave an interview to Vietnam News Agency.
- Could you please assess the current friendly and cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Indonesia, especially at this special time when Indonesia has a new President?
Ambassador Ta Van Thong: As we all know, Vietnam and Indonesia have a long-standing traditional friendship. High-ranking leaders of the two countries regularly visit each other and meet on the sidelines of multilateral conferences.
In 2017, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's official visit to Indonesia marked an important milestone, the first time the Party's top leader visited Indonesia since President Ho Chi Minh 's visit in 1959.
During President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to Indonesia in 2013, the two countries decided to upgrade their relationship to a Strategic Partnership. In 2022, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s State visit to Indonesia marked a historic milestone when the two countries officially completed negotiations on the delimitation of their exclusive economic zones after 12 years.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also visited Indonesia three times in 2021 and 2023 within the framework of the ASEAN Summits. Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid two state visits to Vietnam in 2018 and 2024.
Mr. Prabowo Subianto also visited Vietnam in May 2022 as Minister of Defense and most recently in September 2024 as President-elect.
Thus, it can be seen that the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Indonesia has been developing strongly, comprehensively and firmly. The signed action programs have deepened bilateral cooperation in all fields of politics, diplomacy, national defense and security, economy, tourism, culture and people-to-people exchange.
Cooperation mechanisms such as the Foreign Ministers' Bilateral Cooperation Committee and the Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation are important platforms for implementing specific cooperation contents.
The highlight is that economic, trade and investment relations are growing strongly. In ASEAN, Indonesia is Vietnam's third largest trading partner and Vietnam is Indonesia's fourth largest trading partner.
Despite COVID-19, bilateral trade turnover continues to grow positively from 9 billion USD in 2019 to more than 14 billion USD in 2023. Leading Vietnamese companies and corporations such as Vinfast, FPT, Dien May Xanh, TH... have been actively promoting investment in Indonesia.
People-to-people exchanges have also developed very positively, recovering strongly after COVID-19. Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air have been opening many routes connecting destinations between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, Bali. Thanks to that, two-way tourism growth is very positive, the number of Indonesian visitors to Vietnam has increased sharply in recent times.
These days are special times for Indonesia, marking the transition of generations of leadership and government in Indonesia.
Over the past 10 years, President Joko Widodo has led Indonesia to great achievements. Indonesia's trade balance has reached a surplus for 53 consecutive months in a very difficult global geopolitical and economic context, GDP per capita has reached a high average level, successfully assuming the role of G20 Chair in 2022 and ASEAN Chair in 2023, Indonesia's role and position in the international arena has been increasing.
Regarding relations with Vietnam, I believe that the new President Prabowo Subianto will continue to promote the momentum of good relations between the two countries, towards the important milestone of celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations and upgrading the Vietnam-Indonesia Strategic Partnership to a new height as agreed by the two countries' senior leaders.
- What is the significance of the Vice President's trip to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Indonesian President for the relationship between the two countries in the coming time?
Ambassador Ta Van Thong: During President-elect Prabowo's working visit to Vietnam in September 2024, senior Vietnamese leaders welcomed him with great respect, showing both closeness and respect for Vietnam's brotherly country of Indonesia.
Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan's attendance at the inauguration ceremony of President Prabowo and Vice President Gibran is of great significance, on the one hand promoting solidarity among ASEAN countries, on the other hand once again demonstrating Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of attaching great importance to the traditional friendship and strategic partnership with Indonesia, wishing to further deepen the existing good cooperative relationship between the two countries, towards new heights.
On this occasion, the two sides are expected to discuss activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and promote visits by high-ranking leaders in 2025, as well as discuss measures to further promote new areas of cooperation such as green energy, high-tech agriculture, cultural exchange, education, and tourism development.
- Thank you very much, Ambassador./.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/hop-tac-doi-tac-chien-luoc-viet-nam-indonesia-phat-huy-hieu-qua-5025576.html
![[Photo] National Assembly Chairman attends the seminar "Building and operating an international financial center and recommendations for Vietnam"](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/7/28/76393436936e457db31ec84433289f72)
Comment (0)