Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia (right) at an interview with Vietnam News Agency resident correspondent in Jakarta. (Photo: VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – Theupcoming 4th meeting of the Vietnam - Indonesia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) is expected to further consolidate and create strong momentum to bring the bilateral strategic partnership to a new height inline with the long-term interests of the two countries, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong has said.
Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency's resident correspondentin Jakarta ahead of Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son's official visit to Indonesia to co-chair the 4th meeting of the JCBC from July 19-21, the ambassador said the visit will take place in the context of complicateddevelopments in the international and regional situation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which have caused negative impacts on global politicaland economic relations.
The visit reflects thehigh determination of the two sides in maintaining the exchange of delegationsand bilateral cooperation mechanisms, contributing to further strengthening the bilateral relations, especially after two years of being affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic, he said.
According to the diplomat, the meeting will reviewthe implementation of the results of the 3rd meeting of the JCBC held in April2018, and discuss directions and specific measures to continue promoting bilateralcooperation in all fields, especially activities tocelebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategicpartnership in 2023.
The visit affirms that Vietnamattaches great importance to the traditional friendship and strategicpartnership with Indonesia, reflecting the country's support for Indonesia asthe President of the G20 this year as well as the Chair of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2023, Thong stressed.
The diplomat said Son and his Indonesian counterpart Retno L.P. Marsudi will co-chair the meeting to evaluate theoverall results of cooperation in all fields from politics, diplomacy, defence,security, economy, trade, culture and social affairs, and exchange views on internationaland regional issues of mutual interest.
The two sides will carefully discussthe shortcomings and set forth directions and solutions to promote Vietnam-Indonesiacollaboration in the coming time, both bilaterally as well as within theframework of regional and international cooperation mechanisms.
The ambassador highlighted thefruitful development of bilateral relations in recent times which has beenfurther strengthened with meetings between senior leaders of the two countriesand close coordination at international and regional forums.
Two-way trade surged from5.6 billion USD in 2014 to over 11 billion USD in 2021, exceeding the target of 10billion USD set in the 2019-2023 action plan.
Visits and cooperation activities between ministries andagencies of the two nations have been maintained, including IndonesianForeign Minister Retno Marsudi's working visit to Vietnam inDecember 2019, Indonesian Defence Minister PrabowoSubianto's official visit in May this year. The two countries' Coast Guards also signed an MoU on cooperation in December 2021.
In addition, the two countries havecoordinated in organising many activities such as training programmes on theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), cybercrime,human trafficking and maritime security, drug prevention and control,counter-terrorism and mechanisms in ASEAN.
Direct flights between Hanoi and Bali, Ho Chi Minh City andJakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Bali have helped promote tourism and businessactivities between the two sides, he said, adding that they will be resumed inthe near future.
Thong also said that during the pandemic, relevant agencies of the countries coordinated together to safely repatriate more than 1,000 Vietnamese citizens from Indonesia./.
