Indonesian journalist: Indonesia-Vietnam relationship to be promoted

Teguh Santosa, Editor-in-Chief of Republik Merdeka newspape. (Photo: VNA)

Jakarta (VNA) – The State visit to Indonesia by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is one of the very good stepping stones for the relationship between the two countries, Teguh Santosa, Editor-in-Chief of Republik Merdeka newspaper, said in an interview to the Vietnam News Agency.

Teguh Santosa, who is also chairman of Indonesia’s Cyber Media Association, said that Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his  Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc dicusssed many issues, including investment and ways to boost trade between the two countries as well as maritime cooperation during their talks on December 22.

Given that Indonesia and Vietnam are the main actors in the region, Teguh Santosa said Indonesia has learnt a lot from Vietnam, especially in promoting economic development. Many Vietnamese goods are already present in Indonesia, while air routes have been established between Hanoi capital city and Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam and Jakarta and Bali of Indonesia, he said.

President Phuc's visit will further enhance the strong understanding among business associations, traders and manufacturers in Indonesia and vice versa.

Teguh Santosa emphasised that the two economies are highly complementary. Indonesia is a member of G20 with GDP of 1.3 trillion USD and a population of 280 million people while Vietnam has nearly 100 million people with its rapid growth rate.

Regarding measures to promote Indonesia-Vietnam relations in the coming time, Teguh Santosa said that it is necessary for the two sides to organise many exchange programmes between the press, scholars, students, and small and medium enterprises, thereby helping Vietnamese people have a better understanding about Indonesia and vice versa. It will deepen the good bilateral relationship between the two countries, he noted.

He said he hopes there are more Indonesian journalists visiting Vietnam, and more Vietnamese journalists visiting Indonesia.

As a businessman, he expected that Vietnam will be further open to products from Indonesia and Indonesia will be more open to goods from Vietnam./.