Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Tạ Văn Thông. VNA/VNS Photo

JAKARTA – The state visit to Indonesia by President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc is an important event marking great strides in the two countries’ relations and helping develop their strategic partnership in an increasingly substantive and effective manner, said Vietnamese Ambassador to the country Tạ Văn Thông.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency, Thông said bilateral relations had grown on the basis of friendship and mutual trust into a strategic partnership that covers all fields of cooperation and is a future-oriented relationship.

The trip by President Phúc would affirm the two countries’ strategic role and their common strategic interests. It would also help enhance mutual understanding and political trust, creating an important political foundation for expanding ties between the two Governments, parliaments, localities, and people as well as fostering cooperation at multiple levels and in many areas, he noted.

The ambassador highlighted major achievements and milestones in bilateral relations.

Việt Nam and Indonesia boast much untapped potential as well as many complementary strengths. Both are also active members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and hold certain roles and statures in the region.

To further advance bilateral cooperation as their strategic partnership will turn 10 next year, he held that the two sides should prioritise stepping up cooperation in some areas.

In terms of politics and security, Việt Nam and Indonesia should promote unanimity and coordination at multilateral organisations and forums to help strengthen ASEAN’s solidarity and centrality, and maintain peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world; press on with opinion exchanges and meetings at all levels; bring into play existing cooperation mechanisms; coordinate their policies in line with Indonesia’s priorities towards the region, especially when the archipelago nation will serve as the ASEAN Chair in 2023; and launch a programme for implementing the strategic partnership for the next phase.

The two countries should also foster economic, trade, and investment links; work out measures for raising bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2028; reinforce economic connections, including developing balanced trade and tapping into cooperation potential in new aspects, especially energy transition; and conduct negotiations to remove non-trade barriers, tackle difficulties, and create more favourable conditions for businesses to access each other’s markets, Thông added.

He said they needed to increase people-to-people connectivity via the exchanges of arts troupes, mass organisations, and localities. It would also be important to work together to turn Indonesia into one of the favourite destinations of Vietnamese students in Southeast Asia, and increase scholarships for each other’s students.

The diplomat held that the two sides also held huge tourism potential which should be optimised more strongly through products linking the countries and communications to deepen mutual understanding of each other’s histories, traditions, and cultures.

He suggested increasing the flight frequency of current air routes and opening new ones connecting their tourist destinations, adding that tourism cooperation projects should take into account Indonesia’s relocation of its capital and development of new regions.

The Vietnamese Embassy would continue acting as a bridge and working hard to help promote bilateral relations, Thông added. VNS