Indonesia and Russia have agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in various sectors on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo stressed the two countries’ close relations, based on friendship, equality, respect and understanding to each other, according to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s statement.

He said the two countries need to improve and bring the ties into higher level in order realise huge cooperation potential.

In his greeting statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that based on a good tradition, the two countries have actively developed their relations into new sectors.

Russia is ready to continue constructive cooperation to improve bilateral relations, he said. According the Russian President, the effort will answer respective interests of Indonesia and Russia in ensuring stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

Indonesia and Russia established diplomatic ties on February 3, 1950.

The two countries have set a target of bringing two-way trade between Indonesia and Russia to 5 billion USD in 2015.-VNA