Vietnam is a partner of strategic importance to Indonesia in the region, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said during his talks with Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

President Phuc was welcomed by his Indonesian counterpart during a ceremony in Bogor on Thursday as part of his state visit to Indonesia from Wednesday through Friday.

The two leaders then joined talks to discuss the two nations’ bilateral ties.

Speaking to the press after the conversation, President Phuc thanked the Indonesian state leader and people for their warm welcome.

The two countries have overcome many challenges to become important partners, Phuc stated, expressing his hope that the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership, slated for 2023, will open a new stage of cooperation between the two countries.

"Political trust has been consistently consolidated, while economic cooperation is growing strongly,” the Vietnamese leader continued.

Collaboration in defense and security, energy, tourism, culture, trade, transport, education, and people-to-people exchanges is expanding and developing positively, he noted.

President Widodo affirmed that Vietnam is a regional partner of strategic importance to Indonesia.

Bilateral trade has grown by an average of 9.77 percent per year over the past five years and reached an impressive US$11.6 billion in 2021.

Two-way trade turnover during the first 11 months of 2022 reached $13 billion, and the two sides have also been committed to achieving a bilateral trade target of $15 billion by 2028.

Both sides will create favorable conditions for businesses in the two countries to diversify their investment fields and develop their digital economies, digital transformation, green economies, tourism, services, and aviation.

President Widodo also announced that the two countries will strengthen cooperation in clean energy and renewable energy.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of a number of cooperative documents, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in counter-terrorism, an MoU on cooperation in combating the illegal trading and transportation of narcotics, and an MoU on cooperation in energy and mineral resources.

President Widodo welcomed the cooperation in energy and mineral resources, stating that it will boost the development of solar power, hydrogen technology, and smart grid technology.

Another important area of cooperation that the two sides will focus on is strengthening connectivity to maintain trade flows and bring the number of visitors back to pre-pandemic levels.

Airlines of the two countries are expected to finalize plans to open new routes between Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City.

The leaders also announced that Vietnam and Indonesia had completed negotiations on the delimitation of their exclusive economic zones in accordance with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS.

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