Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong hosted a welcome ceremony with a 21-cannon salute on Friday morning for his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, who is on a three-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of the former.

This marks the first state visit to Vietnam by a top foreign official in 2024 and the second state visit to Vietnam by President Widodo, with his first one taking place in 2018.

Upon their arrival in Hanoi on Thursday afternoon, President Widodo and his entourage were welcomed at Noi Bai International Airport in the Vietnamese capital by Chairman of the Presidential Office of Vietnam Le Khanh Hai, Chairman of the Hanoi administration Tran Sy Thanh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong, and other diplomatic officials of both countries.

During his three-day stay in Vietnam, the top Indonesian official is scheduled to hold talks with President Thuong following the welcome ceremony, before jointly witnessing the signing of some cooperation documents and meeting with the press.

The Indonesian state leader will also meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, as well as participate in some events along with the top Vietnamese officials.

His visit takes place at a time when the Vietnam-Indonesia bilateral ties have increasingly made headway.

Addressing a press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday afternoon, spokesperson for Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said Vietnam remains Indonesia’s only strategic partner in ASEAN.

In the bloc, Indonesia is Vietnam’s third-largest trade partner, while the latter is the former’s fourth-largest one.

President Widodo's visit demonstrates that Vietnam is always consistent in highly valuing its relations with neighboring countries, including ASEAN member states.

Prior to the trip, Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Denny Abdi expressed his hope that the two nations would soon elevate their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The elevation of the ties would manifest both nations’ commitment to more effective cooperation in the years to come, he said.

As of November last year, two-way trade reached some US$12.6 billion, with the two countries targeting $15 billion in the near future.

Besides, Vietnam recorded 119 active projects, worth over $646 million, developed by Indonesian investors as of September last year in the fields of industrial processing, manufacturing, and lodging and dining services.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors had pumped $59 million of capital into 17 projects in Indonesia, with a focus on commerce, IT, agriculture, and industry.

Indonesia set up its defense attaché office in Vietnam in 1964, making it among the first countries in the region to establish bilateral defense cooperation with Vietnam.

Both nations have maintained security-defense delegation exchanges on a regular basis, signed a number of bilateral defense agreements, and proactively partaken in ASEAN-related activities.

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