Vietnam - Indonesia strategic partnership brings into play its effectiveness

At the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan will attend the inauguration ceremony of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and conduct a number of bilateral activities in Indonesia from October 19 to 21. On this occasion, Ambassador Ta Van Thong gave an interview to the Vietnam News Agency.

Will continue to promote people-to-people exchange between Indonesia and Vietnam

Vietnam-Indonesia Strategic Partnership Develops Positively

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to the Republic of Indonesia Ta Van Thong gives an interview to VNA reporters. Photo: Dao Trang/VNA

Here is the content of the exchange:

Could the Ambassador assess the current friendly and cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Indonesia, especially at this special time when Indonesia has a new President?

As we all know, Vietnam and Indonesia have a long-standing traditional friendship. Senior leaders of the two countries regularly visit each other and meet on the sidelines of multilateral conferences. In 2017, the official visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to Indonesia marked an important milestone, the first time the highest leader of the Party visited Indonesia since President Ho Chi Minh 's visit in 1959.

During the visit of President Truong Tan Sang to Indonesia in 2013, the two countries decided to upgrade their relationship to a Strategic Partnership. In 2022, the State visit of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Indonesia marked a historic milestone when the two countries officially completed negotiations on the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone after 12 years.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also visited Indonesia three times in 2021 and 2023 within the framework of the ASEAN Summits.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid two State visits to Vietnam in 2018 and 2024. Mr. Prabowo Subianto also visited Vietnam in May 2022 as Minister of Defense and most recently in September 2024 as President-elect.

Thus, it can be seen that the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Indonesia has been developing strongly, comprehensively and firmly. The signed action programs have deepened bilateral cooperation in all fields of politics, diplomacy, national defense and security, economy, tourism, culture and people-to-people exchange. Cooperation mechanisms such as the Bilateral Cooperation Committee at the Foreign Minister level, the Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation are important foundations for implementing specific cooperation contents.

The highlight is that economic, trade and investment relations are growing strongly. In ASEAN, Indonesia is Vietnam's third largest trading partner and Vietnam is Indonesia's fourth largest trading partner. Despite COVID-19, bilateral trade turnover continues to grow positively from 9 billion USD in 2019 to more than 14 billion USD in 2023. Leading Vietnamese companies and corporations such as Vinfast, FPT, Dien May Xanh, TH... have been actively promoting investment in Indonesia. People-to-people exchanges have also developed very positively, recovering strongly after COVID-19. Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air have been opening many routes connecting destinations between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, Bali. Thanks to that, two-way tourism growth is very positive, the number of Indonesian visitors to Vietnam has increased sharply in recent times.

These days are a special time for Indonesia, marking the transition of generations of leadership as well as the government of Indonesia. Over the past 10 years, President Joko Widodo has led Indonesia to achieve great achievements. Indonesia's trade balance has reached a surplus for 53 consecutive months in the context of extremely difficult global geopolitics and economy, GDP per capita has reached an average high level, successfully assuming the role of G20 Chair in 2022 and ASEAN Chair in 2023, Indonesia's role and position in the international arena is increasingly growing.

Regarding relations with Vietnam, I believe that the new President Prabowo Subianto will continue to promote the momentum of good relations between the two countries, towards the important milestone of celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations and upgrading the Vietnam - Indonesia Strategic Partnership to a new height as agreed by the two countries' senior leaders.

What is the significance of the Vice President's visit to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Indonesian President for the relationship between the two countries in the coming time?

During President-elect Prabowo's working visit to Vietnam in September 2024, senior Vietnamese leaders all received him with great respect, both as a sign of closeness and as a demonstration of Vietnam's respect and appreciation for the brotherly country of Indonesia.

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan's attendance at the inauguration ceremony of President Prabowo and Vice President Gibran is of great significance, on the one hand promoting solidarity among ASEAN countries, on the other hand once again demonstrating Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of attaching great importance to the traditional friendship and strategic partnership with Indonesia, wishing to further deepen the existing good cooperative relationship between the two countries, towards new heights.

On this occasion, the two sides are expected to discuss activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and promote visits by high-ranking leaders in 2025, as well as discuss measures to further promote new areas of cooperation such as green energy, high-tech agriculture, cultural exchange, education, tourism development, etc.

Thank you very much, Ambassador.

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Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/hop-tac-doi-tac-chien-luoc-viet-nam-indonesia-phat-huy-hieu-qua-206248.html