Vietnam-Indonesia ties lifted to strategic partnership

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially announced the upgrade of Vietnam-Indonesia relations to a strategic partnership on June 27.
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and Indonesian President SusiloBambang Yudhoyono officially announced the upgrade of Vietnam-Indonesiarelations to a strategic partnership during their talks in Jakarta,Indonesia on June 27.

The talks took place following a statewelcome ceremony held the same day for the Vietnamese President on hisofficial State visit to Indonesia at the invitation of PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The upgrade of the Vietnam-Indonesiarelations to a strategic partnership is grounded on the traditionalfriendship and all-faceted cooperation that have unceasingly grown inthe past 60 years, the two leaders said.

It aims to bring the twocountries’ ties to a new height, for the sake of each country’s peopleas well as for peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in theregion and the world, the Presidents noted.

Regarding politics,both leaders agreed to further their traditional friendship and trustthrough regular exchanges of all-level delegations, continuing theeffective implementation of existing cooperation mechanisms, pushing upthe implementation of the “Action Plan for the 2012-2015 period.

The Indonesian side agreed to soon set up a Vietnam-IndonesiaFriendship Association to further beef up people-to-people exchanges inthe new context, particularly raising the understanding of the twocountries’ youth on the traditional ties nurtured by both nations.

Touching upon their economic, trade and investment bond, the twoleaders shared the same view that two-way trade has been recording finegrowth with greater balance in trade, agreeing to strive for bilateraltrade surpassing 5 billion USD by 2015 and 10 billion USD by 2018.

To match the untapped potential of each nation as well as the level oftheir newly-established strategic partnership, both leaders suggestedthe two sides’ relevant ministries and agencies foster promotionmeasures and offer favourable conditions for businesses to invest ineither country.

Reviewing other areas of cooperation such asenergy, agro-fishery, aquaculture and education-training, which havebeen successfully developing, the two leaders reached consensus onelevating bilateral cooperation in food security, jointly carrying outprojects in oil and gas, coal and mining.

They agreed tointensify the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding onFishing and Sea-related Issues to, on one hand, tap the potential ofbilateral cooperation in this field, and on the other hand, to closelycoordinate in dealing with issues relating to fishermen and fishingboats that encroach each side’s territorial waters on the basis ofhumanity and friendship.

Both sides showed their supportfor a temporary solution, if needed, when the two sides discuss thefinal agreement on demarcation of economic exclusive zones.

Moving to defence-security cooperation, the two leaders reachedunanimity on starting negotiations to soon sign rules on joint patrolsbetween the two countries’ naval forces in contiguous waters andimmediately make the patrols a reality, helping maintain peace andsecurity at sea.

They saw eye to eye in the possibleestablishment of appropriate dialogue mechanisms on policies on securityand defence, underscoring the importance of strengthening cooperationin the defence industry, fighting terrorism and other non-traditionalsecurity threats.

Relating to other issues, the two leaderssaid they will continue boosting the consultation mechanism and tightentheir same viewpoints at regional and international forums, especiallyin ASEAN and the UN.

They agreed to join efforts with otherASEAN countries to build an ASEAN Community by 2015. Vietnam sealedits support for Indonesia’s Chairmanship of APEC 2013, expressing itswish that Indonesia will back Vietnam to host APEC 2017.

On the East Sea issue, the two leaders reconfirmed the importance ofpeace, stability, safety, maritime security and freedom at sea, solvingdisputes by peaceful means, refraining from using or threatening the useof military force, respecting international law including the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fullyimplementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea(DOC) and soon finalising a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Both illustrated their mutual support for ASEAN's Six-Point Principleson the East Sea and welcomed the Joint Statement of the 15 thASEAN-China Summit on the 10th anniversary of the Declaration on theConduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as well as the concrete stepsfollowing the issued statement.
After the talks, the twoleaders witnessed the signing of a series of agreements in variousrealms, including extradition, legal assistance, energy, finance andagriculture.

Speaking highly of the first state visit by theVietnamese President to Indonesia since 2001, the host said that thefruitful outcomes of the visit will further consolidate the traditionalfriendship and all-around cooperation between the two countries.

He hosted a banquet in honour of visiting President Truong Tan Sang.

Economic cooperation between the two countries has also yieldedpositive results with two-way trade exceeding 4.6 billion USD in both2011 and 2012 despite the gloomy global economic situation.

In the first six months of this year, the two countries enjoyed two-way trade of about 2.1 billion USD.-VNA

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