Jakarta (VNA) - Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi have discussed key steps to boost multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, according to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.
Balakrishnan, who is in Singapore from January 12-13, said Singapore has demand for farm produce while Indonesia is strong in manufacturing, and the two countries should pay attention to cold storage and standard infrastructure.
Both sides debated strengthening bilateral economic ties, including farm produce import-export.
In labour relations, Indonesia will improve the skills of its workers in some of Singapore’s high demand fields, such as therapists and caregivers. Singapore, meanwhile, will then offer opportunities to Indonesian workers in these areas.
Host and guest also touched on the promotion of ties within the regional framework, especially given that the ASEAN Community has recently come into being, which presents both opportunities and challenges to member countries.
Singapore is Indonesia’s second largest trade partner, behind China, with two-way trade hitting 42 billion USD in 2014.
The city state is also the largest investor in Indonesia with a registered capital of 5.8 billion USD in 2014.
Nearly 1.5 million Singaporeans visit Indonesia each year.-VNA
