Bringing Vietnam - Indonesia relations to a new height soon
Báo Dân trí•12/01/2024
(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo agreed that, based on the tremendous achievements of cooperation over the past nearly 70 years, the strategic partnership between the two countries should be elevated to a new level soon.
On the morning of January 12th, at the Presidential Palace, following the state welcoming ceremony, President Vo Van Thuong held talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. During the talks, the two leaders agreed that, building on the tremendous achievements of cooperation over the past nearly 70 years, the strategic partnership between the two countries should be elevated to a new level. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in other important areas such as defense and security, maritime cooperation; enhance the exchange of experience in combating transnational crime; and prevent any individual or organization from using the territory of one country to undermine the other.
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo begin their talks on the morning of January 12 (Photo: Manh Quan).
Many other areas will also see increased cooperation, such as agriculture and fisheries, information and communication, education and training, culture, sports, tourism, opening more direct flights, connecting localities and businesses, and promoting people-to-people exchanges. At the same time, Vietnam and Indonesia will expand cooperation in new and promising areas such as smart finance, energy transition, digital transformation, innovation, and the development of electric vehicle and battery ecosystems. Agreeing to strive for bilateral trade turnover to reach US$15 billion or higher, both sides stated that this will be achieved through reducing trade barriers and facilitating the import and export of each other's key commodities, including rice. Accordingly, President Vo Van Thuong requested Indonesia to facilitate access for Vietnamese agricultural products and Halal products to the Indonesian market; and to encourage Indonesian businesses to expand investment in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Indonesian President stated that an increasing number of Indonesian businesses are interested in investing in Vietnam and expressed his hope that Vietnamese businesses will expand their investments in Indonesia.
Vietnam and Indonesia are striving to bring bilateral trade turnover to 15 billion USD or higher soon (Photo: Manh Quan).
President Vo Van Thuong expressed his gratitude and hope that the Indonesian Government would continue to pay attention to and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Indonesia to live stably, successfully integrate into local society, and contribute to bilateral relations. He highly appreciated and proposed that both sides continue to cooperate in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Regarding regional and international issues of mutual concern, both sides agreed to continue strengthening consultations, coordinating closely, and supporting each other in regional and international forums; promoting ASEAN solidarity and its central role; and working with other ASEAN countries to support Laos in successfully assuming the ASEAN chairmanship in 2024. The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of peace , stability, safety, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea; and to work together to maintain ASEAN solidarity and a common stance on the South China Sea issue. Along with that, it is necessary to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and strive to promote negotiations to achieve a substantive, effective, and internationally compliant Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), especially UNCLOS 1982.
The two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents between ministries and departments of the two countries (Photo: Manh Quan).
Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of two cooperation documents: a Memorandum of Understanding on Information and Communication Technology Cooperation and a Memorandum of Understanding on Fisheries Cooperation. That evening, President Vo Van Thuong will host a grand reception to welcome President Joko Widodo and the high-level Indonesian delegation on their state visit to Vietnam.
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