President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong presented the “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” insignia to outgoing Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Pitono Purnomo in Hanoi on August 19.

During his three-year term of office in Vietnam, the cooperation between the two countries had seen fine developments with the regular exchange of high-ranking visits and numerous agreements reached by the two countries’ leaders in such fields as politics, economics, security, defence, culture and education.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and Indonesia increased from 2.52 billion USD in 2008 to 3.34 billion USD in 2010. The figure reached nearly 2 billion USD in the first half of this year.

Many Indonesian investors have chosen Vietnam as a destination for their investments. At present, Indonesia ranks sixth among ASEAN countries and 30 th among 89 countries and territories worldwide investing in Vietnam.

As the Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam, Pitono Purnomo had closely coordinated with the VUFO and the Vietnam-Indonesia Friendship Association in implementing friendship activities.

Expressing his pride at receiving the noble distinction from the VUFO, the Indonesian diplomat said he believed that the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia will continuously develop in the years to come for the development of the two nations./.