NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (R) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Hanoi on January 12. (Photo: VNA)The host leader welcomed President Widodo on the latter’s secondvisit to Vietnam, which holds great significance after the two countriescelebrated the 10th founding anniversary of their strategic partnership in2023.
Vietnam has always treasured and exerted efforts to work with Indonesia topromote the strategic partnership in a more practical and extensive manner soas to meet their people's aspirations and interests as well as the twocountries’ sound friendship and cooperation, founded by Presidents Ho Chi Minhand Sukarno and nurtured by generations of leaders, Chairman Hue stated.
President Widodo emphasised that the two countries’ strategicpartnership has harvested concrete cooperation results, adding it is now timefor Vietnam and Indonesia to strengthen bilateral connections, including in digitalisationand high technology, to obtain common achievements.
He highly valued the parliaments’ role in enhancing the strategic partnership,particularly in making laws and policies to accelerate energy transition,digital transformation, and innovation.
Echoing his guest’s view, the top legislator of Vietnamexpressed his hope that the two countries will elevate the bilateral relations to anew level at an appropriate point of time.
Chairman Hue held that the increase of mutual visits at all levels andvia all channels, the improvement of the existing cooperation mechanisms’ effectiveness,and the expansion of cooperation between the two countries’ localities andfriendship associations will help foster people-to-people ties. He also calledon both sides to enhance collaboration in the Halal industry, rice trading, andinvestment and business partnerships.
President Widodosaid the two sides should actively cooperate with each other to devise concretepolicies and measures to raise bilateral trade to 15 billion USD by 2028.
At the meeting, the NA Chairman affirmed that Vietnam willcontinue creating the optimal conditions for foreign investors, includingIndonesian ones. He asked Indonesia to provide favourable conditions and legalprocedures for a joint venture between the two countries to become operationalsoon in the archipelago nation to help build an electric vehicle and batteryecosystem.
Healso stressed the need for the two sides to carry out the existing mechanismson maritime cooperation, reinforce ties in maritime affairs and sustainablefishing, and work together to settle fishermen and fishing boat-related issues ina goodwill and humanitarian manner in line with the strategic partnership.
Vietnam and Indonesia should coordinate more closely via the government and parliamentary channels to help enhance the solidarity,unanimity, and centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),bring into play the role of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), and maintainpeace and stability in the region, the top legislator said.
The two nations also need to cooperate in accordance withASEAN’s viewpoint on the East Sea, promote the implementation of theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and coordinate inthe negotiations on an efficient and effective Code of Conduct (COC) thatmatches international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he added.
President Widodo spoke highly of the close cooperation betweenthe Vietnamese NA and the House of Representatives of Indonesia, welcoming thetwo legislative bodies’ signing of a cooperation agreement in August 2023. He alsoaffirmed support for stronger ties, experience sharing, and exchanges,including visits by high-ranking delegations.
Chairman Hue suggested the two countries support each other atregional and international forums, especially ASEAN, AIPA, ASEAN-ledmechanisms, the UN, and the Non-Aligned Movement, on international and regionalsecurity and strategic issues.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian President voiced his support for Vietnam’sinitiative to host the ASEAN Future Forum on fast, sustainable, and people-centreddevelopment, and affirmed that Indonesia will send senior representatives to the event./.
VNA
