President Jokowi Calls For Increased Trade Ties Between Indonesia And Vietnam

President Jokowi" width="300" height="200" /> President Jokowi

Jakarta, 6 Jumadal Awwal 1437/16 February 2016 (MINA) – President Joko Widodo and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held a bilateral meeting to discuss cooperation in trade and investment, prior to the ASEAN-US Summit, here, Monday morning.

“In the field of trade and investment, we hope the two countries will step up cooperation to realize the trade target of US$10 billion by 2018,” Jokowi said, Antara News quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The trade balance between Indonesia and Vietnam reached US$5.3 billion in 2015.

Prime Minister Nuyen Tan Dung told Jokowi that Vietnamese investors were interested in investing in the fields of agriculture, oil and gas in Indonesia.

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President Jokowi hailed the results of the Seventh Technical Meeting on the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between Indonesia and Vietnam in Hanoi in December 2015.

He called for a consultation to solve the ZEE maritime border issue between the two member countries of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

Indonesia hopes the technical meeting could agree on the ZEE border because the country has suffered huge losses due to illegal fishing activities, Jokowi added.

Jokowi has also expressed his intention to meet the prime ministers invitation to visit Vietnam this year.

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The Indonesian head of state arrived at the Palm Springs International Airport in California, the United States, on Sunday evening to attend the ASEAN-US Summit, which will take place at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, on February 15-16, 2016.

“This ASEAN-US Summit is being held following ASEANs new strategic partnership with the United States reached last year,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi stated at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta recently.

She said the summit will serve as a platform to implement an action plan on the framework of cooperation between the ASEAN and the United States.  (T/P010/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

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