Indonesian President Joko Widodo. (Photo: AFP)Hanoi (VNA) – The Russia-ASEAN summit scheduled to take place in Russia’s city of Sochi for May 19-20 is expected to help strengthen the bilateral comprehensive relations and elevate ties to a new height, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on May 16.
In an interview granted to the Russian news agency TASS, President Widodo said Moscow is a strategic partner of both Indonesia and ASEAN. Therefore, at the upcoming summit, ASEAN and Russian leaders will discuss ways to further bilateral cooperation, he added.
The President is due to arrive in Russia on May 18 to attend the event and participate in some bilateral negotiations with partners.
Earlier, director of the ASEAN dialogue partners and inter-regional cooperation department under Indonesia ’s Foreign Ministry Derry Aman said Indonesia and Russia will take this occasion to discuss collaboration in preventing terrorism, strengthening regional security and threats from extreme organisations and cross-border crimes.
The ASEAN-Russia summit will follow the theme "Towards Strategic Partnership for the Sake of the Common Good".-VNA
