Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo fly kites at the National Monument in Indonesia. (Photo: Reuters)New Delhi (VNA) – India and Indonesia have agreedto work to boost bilateral trade to 50 billion USD by 2025, Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said on May 30 after talks with his Indonesian host,President Joko Widodo.
According to Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency(BPS), trade between the two countries in 2016 was 12.9 billion USD. It rose by28.7 percent to 18.13 billion USD last year with Indonesia's exports to Indiareaching 14.08 billion USD and its imports standing at 4.05 billion USD, thePress Trust of India (PTI) reported.
Indonesia and India have also agreed to lift their tiesto a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Both sides reached a consensus on holdingan annual bilateral summit and continuing regular bilateral consultations.
They appreciated the adoption of a shared vision formaritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
They expressed their satisfaction with the current strategic partnership withintensified cooperation in politics, defence, security and economy.
Both leaders reaffirmed that their countries, as strategic partners andmaritime neighbours, must work to strengthen their already robust defencecooperation.
They reaffirmed their commitment in defence, with the signing of the DefenceCooperation Agreement between the two countries, and agreed to enhance mutualtrust through regular meetings and talks between land, naval and air forces ofthe two countries.
The two sides agreed to work for the early conclusion of the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and reiterated that it needs to becomprehensive, fair and balanced with benefits for all member states.
President Widodo stated he welcomes the increase in Indian investment inIndonesia, while Prime Minister Modi also welcomed Indonesian companies’participation in the Make in India initiative and invited Indonesian businessesto avail of the opportunities presented.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on an official visit toIndonesia on May 29-30. It was the first stop of his tour of three SoutheastAsian countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – to enhance relations withthese nations.-VNA
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