Việt Nam, Indonesia committed to elevating Strategic Partnership to new heights: Foreign ministers

VIETNAM, April 24 - HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn 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 Việt Nam-Indonesia Bilateral Cooperation Committee (JCBC) in Hà Nội.

Minister Sơn 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 Việt Nam by the President of Indonesia in January 2024, and as both countries prepare to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025.

Minister Sơn 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 Việt Nam on its achievements in development across all aspects. She affirmed Indonesia's value for and desire to further strengthen the Strategic Partnership with Việt Nam.

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 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Within ASEAN, Indonesia is presently Việt Nam's third-largest trading partner, and Việt Nam 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.

The two ministers exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) and Myanmar.

They said they are committed to continue coordinating and supporting each other in multilateral and regional organisations and forums, including the United Nations, ASEAN and Mekong cooperation.

They concurred to coordinate to maintain unity and the agreed-upon ASEAN principles in the East Sea issue to ensure peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, that are in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), promote the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and actively promote the early conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in accordance with international law and UNCLOS 1982.

At the end of the meeting, the two foreign ministers signed the minutes and agreed that the sixth meeting will be held in Indonesia in 2026.

In the early morning of Wednesday, foreign minister Sơn invited the Indonesian guest for a stroll around the iconic Hoàn Kiếm Lake and to enjoy phở and coffee in Hà Nội as a way to kick-start their new day of work. — VNS