Indonesian President Joko Widodo (R) and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (Source: VNA)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull agreed to restore diplomatic and economic relations that have been damaged in the past years during their talks on November 12.
In the talks in Jakarta, Indonesia, the leaders committed to boosting cooperation in economy, finance, and investment, especially in animal husbandry, one of the spearhead sectors of Australia.
The two sides would make efforts to promote cooperation and cement bilateral relationship, PM Turnbull told the media after the meeting.
He added that Australian Minister of Trade and Investment Andrew Robb and more than 300 businessmen will arrive in Indonesia next week to seek investment and business opportunities.
For his part, Indonesian President Joko Widodo committed to restoring relations between the two countries.
The meeting is the first between leaders of the two countries in hope of healing the relationship that has deteriorated by revelations in November, 2013, that Australia had spied on the president and his inner circle back in 2009 .
Indonesia is currently Australia’s 12th largest trade partner with a two-way trade volume of 15.7 billion USD and investment cooperation worth 9.6 billion USD in 2014. More than 200 Australian enterprises are operating in Indonesia.
Australia is willing to promote bilateral trade ties and ratify the new free trade agreement – the Australia-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Indonesia is the first stop in PM Turnbull’s 12-day trip to five nations in Asia and Europe.
After Indonesia, Turnbull will arrive in Germany on November 13, attend the Group of Twenty Major Economies (G20) Meeting in Turkey from November 15-16, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) from November 18-19 in the Philippines and the East Asia Summit in Malaysia from November 21-22.-VNA
