Vietnam and Indonesia should strengthen cooperation and coordination from the standpoint of building a stronger and more developed ASEAN community, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Mr Dung made the suggestion on July 25 while receiving Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who is in Hanoi to chair the first meeting of the Vietnam-Indonesia Committee for Bilateral Cooperation.

The PM said he is pleased with recent strong developments in the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, especially in economics, trade and investment, with two-way trade reaching over US$4.6 billion in 2011 and US$2.1 billion in the first half of this year.

The bilateral cooperation results have brought practical benefits to the development of the two countries as well as contributed to building a strongly-developed ASEAN community, he stressed.

Mr Dung suggested the two countries continue to boost the implementation of cooperation agreements and programmes agreed by their high-ranking leaders in order to raise the bilateral ties to a new level.

Vietnam and Indonesia should closely cooperate in addressing the region’s common issues, including the East Sea issues, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and in the world, he noted.

He added that the two nations need to step up cooperation in diplomacy, security, defence and joint patrols at sea.

Vietnam will help Indonesia ensure food security, affirmed the Government leader.

After informing the host of the results of the first meeting of the committee, Marty Natalegawa stressed that Indonesia always attaches importance to developing cooperation with Vietnam, and will do its utmost to foster bilateral ties in all aspects.

He affirmed that Indonesia will continue to closely coordinate with other ASEAN countries in building a more prosperous ASEAN community as well as in dealing with regional and international issues, including the East Sea issue.

Vietnam-Indonesia committee meets on bilateral ties

The first meeting of the Vietnam-Indonesia Committee for Bilateral Cooperation took place in Hanoi on July 25.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and his Indonesian counterpart, Marty Natalegawa, co-chaired the meeting, which aimed to realise an agreement between the two Governments stated in the Vietnam-Indonesia Action Programme for the 2012-2015 period.

At the event, the two sides reviewed the implementation of the action programme, especially in politics, security, defence, economics, trade and investment.

They also put forth orientations to consolidate and raise bilateral cooperation to a new level towards a strategic partnership in the future.

The two FMs expressed their pleasure at recent positive developments in the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia.

They agreed to increase the exchange of visits at all levels and strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

The ministers spoke highly of the two countries’ security and defence cooperation since they signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation in 2010.

They agreed to suggest the two Governments speed up discussions on an agreement on regulations for joint patrols in contiguous waters and establish a communication channel between the two navies.

Mr Minh and his Indonesian counterpart said the two countries should also strengthen trade and investment promotion activities in an effort to reach the target of US$5 billion in two-way trade ahead of 2015.

The two sides also reached a consensus on furthering cooperation in maritime issues, fisheries, agriculture, food security and judicial matters.

They emphasised the need to pay more attention to enhancing cooperation in education-training, culture, sports and tourism.

The ministers spent time discussing cooperation between the two countries at regional and international forums, particularly in the framework of ASEAN.

They also debated regional issues of common concern, including the East Sea issue, stressing the maintenance of peace, stability, maritime security and safety in the East Sea, the respect for international laws and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the full implementation of the Declaration on Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and advancing towards a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

Minister Minh highly valued Indonesia’s efforts and ASEAN FMs’ release of a six-point joint statement on the East Sea issue on July 20.

The Vietnamese and Indonesian FMs signed the minutes of the meeting, stating that the two sides agreed to hold the second session of the committee in Indonesia in 2014.

At a post-meeting press briefing, Minister Minh expressed his belief that agreements reached at the meeting will be actively implemented in the near future, helping bring the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia to a new level towards a strategic partnership.

The Indonesian FM said he wishes that the two sides will closely cooperate in developing their ties more closely, reflecting the strategic nature of this relationship.

He spoke highly of Vietnam ’s role in the year 2010 when it served the ASEAN Chair, which he said marked an important development in the process of building the ASEAN Community.

Natalegawa stressed that Vietnam and Indonesia will support and represent regional peace and prosperity and the ASEAN Community.

He said he believes that Vietnam will be a reliable partner in solving the region’s common issues, including the East Sea issue, as well as in strengthening the central role of ASEAN in the evolving regional architecture.

VNN/VOV/VNA