President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo at a welcome ceremony held in Jakarta on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

JAKARTA — Việt Nam and Indonesia agreed to raise two-way trade to US$15 billion during talks held between Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo in Jakarta on Thursday.

The talks took place after a welcome ceremony held by the Indonesian leader for President Phúc, who is on a State visit to Indonesia. 

At a press briefing later the same day, the two leaders confirmed the success of the talks, during which many important cooperation mechanisms were agreed upon.

During the talks, the two presidents noted that the Việt Nam-Indonesia strategic partnership has overcome many challenges and economic cooperation has developed strongly. Two-way trade turnover in 2021 reached $11.5 billion. 

They agreed to enhance exchanges of visits by delegations at all levels, effectively implement cooperation agreements signed between the two sides and build an action plan to implement the strategic partnership during 2024-2028 fully and comprehensively. 

They agreed to create conditions for businesses of the two countries to diversify fields of investment and development, such areas as digital economy, digital transformation, green economy, renewable energies, tourism and services. 

They also agreed to promote cooperation in national defence and security and maritime cooperation.

In order to raise the two-way trade turnover to $15 billion, President Joko Widodo proposed Việt Nam create conditions for Indonesia to export products to Việt Nam, particularly agricultural products.

The Indonesian leader said he appreciated the Vietnamese Government's commitment to deal with issues that Indonesian investors encountered, helping to promote new investment in the future.

President Joko Widodo said he and President Phúc agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of clean and renewable energies.

The two Presidents also agreed to promote cooperation in tourism and instruct airlines to complete plans to open new air routes between Đà Nẵng and Java, and increase flights between HCM City and Jakarta.

Regarding regional and international issues, the two Presidents said they agreed to strengthen cooperation at regional and international forums, particularly ASEAN and the United Nations. 

The two leaders also discussed the priorities of Indonesia during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023. President Phúc congratulated Indonesia for successfully fulfilling its role as G20 Chairmanship in 2022 and committed to supporting Indonesia in its role as ASEAN Chairmanship. — VNS