Elevating Vietnam-Indonesia relations to a strategic level.
Vietnam attaches great importance to strengthening friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation with Indonesia.
At the invitation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President Truong Tan Sang and his wife, along with a high-level delegation from Vietnam, paid a state visit to Indonesia on June 27-28.
The visit aims to reaffirm Vietnam's consistent policy of valuing the strengthening of friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation with Indonesia, a traditional and important partner of Vietnam in ASEAN.
President Truong Tan Sang (Photo: VNA)
Indonesia is geographically close and familiar to Vietnam, sharing many cultural similarities. With over 17,500 islands of varying sizes, Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago nation, with a land area of 1.9 million square kilometers and a water area of 9.9 million square kilometers.
Indonesia ranks fourth in the world in terms of population, with approximately 250 million people belonging to over 300 different ethnic groups, and boasts a diverse and rich culture.
As a founding member of ASEAN, Indonesia has a significant voice within the bloc and considers ASEAN a cornerstone of its foreign policy; it aspires to build ASEAN into a strong entity to enhance its position in relations with the outside world.
For Vietnam, the 58 years of diplomatic relations have proven that Indonesia is an important and promising partner. Conversely, Vietnam is also highly regarded by Indonesia as one of the most influential countries within ASEAN.
According to the assessment of the Indonesian Diplomatic Conference (February 2012), Vietnam belongs to the group of 14 "comprehensive partners" and "strategic partners" that Indonesia needs to prioritize in developing relations.
In September 2011, the two countries signed the Action Program for the period 2012-2015. Both countries are actively promoting the development of a strategic partnership; bilateral cooperation mechanisms are maintained quite regularly. Localities in both countries proactively establish cooperative relationships to exploit strengths and complement each other, typical examples being the partnership between Kien Giang province (Vietnam) and West Kalimantan province (Indonesia), Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and Padang city; and Da Nang city and Somarang city.
In recent years, bilateral relations between Vietnam and Indonesia have flourished in many areas. There have been numerous reciprocal visits between high-level delegations from the State, Government, and Parliament.
Exchanges between delegations at the ministerial, departmental, business, and mass organization levels have been quite active. Cultural exchanges between the two sides have been actively promoted.
Every year, Indonesia awards hundreds of scholarships to Vietnamese students in fields such as languages, arts, and information technology.
Vietnam and Indonesia have signed over 30 agreements and treaties, creating a solid legal foundation for further promoting cooperation in various fields.
Economic, trade, and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia continues to develop steadily. Bilateral trade turnover is growing well, reaching over US$4.6 billion in 2012, aiming for US$5 billion or higher before 2015.
As of April 2013, Indonesia had 35 investment projects in Vietnam with a capital of over US$282 million, ranking 27th among 101 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
Currently, Vietnam also has 7 investment projects in Indonesia with a capital of 107 million USD. The two countries regularly cooperate closely in regional and international forums, especially within the framework of ASEAN and the United Nations.
President Truong Tan Sang's visit to Indonesia once again affirms Vietnam's consistent policy of valuing the strengthening of friendly relations and comprehensive cooperation with Indonesia, a traditional and important partner of Vietnam in ASEAN and the region; promoting cooperation opportunities in economics, trade, investment, defense, security, and exchanging views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea issue and cooperation within ASEAN.
And notably, during this visit, the two countries will officially upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership.
Mutual understanding and goodwill shared by the two nations over the past 58 years have fueled the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia.
The leaders and people of both countries are continuing to focus on promoting this relationship, making it even better and more sustainable, and elevating bilateral relations to a strategic level. This is the basis for our belief that President Truong Tan Sang's official visit to Indonesia will be successful, creating a solid foundation to further enhance the effectiveness of Vietnam-Indonesia relations for the benefit of the people of both countries, and for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.
According to (vov.vn) - LT
