Indonesia, Saudi Arabia ink defense cooperation agreement
Saudi Arabia and
Indonesia on January 23 signed the first defense cooperation agreement
(DCA) covering training and education, counter-terrorism efforts and
the defense industry, a local newspaper has said.
The DCA was
signed by Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan Abdul
Aziz Al Saud and his host Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at the Defense
Ministry, according to The Jakarta Post.
Sjafrie told reporters
after the signing that the DCA was the first signed since the two
countries established diplomatic relations in 1950. It is also the first
that Indonesia has signed with a Middle Eastern country.
“This is the first time a Saudi deputy defense minister has visited Indonesia ,” he said.
He
said both countries agreed that terrorism affected nations across the
globe. The deputy defense ministers also agreed that terrorism should
not be linked to any ideology, in particular to Islam.
“No religion in the world teaches violence,” Sjafrie said.
Recent
terrorist incidents have painted a bad picture of Islam. Saudi Arabia
is one of the countries damaged by terrorism threats, the Indonesian
Defense Ministry said in a press release.
Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have suffered from numerous attacks linked to certain Islamist groups.
Both
countries agreed to cooperate in capacity building to increase
professionalism by opening opportunities for joint exercises.-VNA