Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) and Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in Hanoi on Wednesday. VNS
HANOI – Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on Wednesday discussed measures to further strengthen the robust Strategic Partnership between the two countries across various fields.
Talks took place as the two co-chaired the 5th session of the Vietnam-Indonesia Bilateral Cooperation Committee (JCBC) in Hanoi.
Minister Son said he highly values the significance of his counterpart’s visit, which aims to promote the implementation of high-level agreements, especially following the state visit to Vietnam by the President of Indonesia in January 2024, and as both countries prepare to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.
Minister Son congratulated Indonesia on the successful general elections held earlier this year and expressed confidence that Indonesia will continue to prosper, rise in international stature and become a developed nation by 2045, their 100th founding anniversary.
Minister Retno Marsudi expressed his delight in visiting once again and congratulated Vietnam on its achievements in development across all aspects. She affirmed Indonesia’s value for and desire to further strengthen the Strategic Partnership with Vietnam.
Both ministers agreed that the cooperation between the two countries is deepening and growing, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both nations and contributing positively to peace, stability and development in the region.
The ministers were pleased to note the remarkable development of economic and trade cooperation in recent years. Bilateral trade reached US$14 billion in 2023 and $3.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024, a 20% increase compared to the same period last year.
Within ASEAN, Indonesia is presently Vietnam third-largest trading partner, and Vietnam is Indonesia’s fourth-largest. Trade turnover has nearly tripled after 10 years of establishing the Strategic Partnership framework in June 2013.
The two ministers agreed to continue promoting high-level exchanges and interactions, enhancing the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, completing the 2024-28 Action Plan and enhancing political trust. They aim to deepen and substantiate bilateral cooperation in various fields, aiming to elevate the bilateral relationship to new heights.
Towards the goal of achieving bilateral trade of $18 billion by 2028 in a more balanced manner, the two sides plan to organise trade promotion activities, facilitate trade connections, and support businesses in accessing each other’s markets and expand investment, especially in new, promising areas such as fisheries, infrastructure, renewable energy, semiconductor, electrical vehicles and digital transformation.
Minister Sơn asked to limit the imposition of technical barriers against exported Vietnamese products and goods and to facilitate the entry and consumption of Vietnamese-made halal products in the Indonesian market.
Both agreed to enhance cooperation in defence-security, coordinate in combating transnational crimes, including cybercrime, high-tech crime and human trafficking.
They encourage promoting air connectivity, strengthening cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
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