Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attend the ASEAN Leaders’ Gathering (ALG) in Indonesia and pay a working visit to the country on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.– VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attend the ASEAN Leaders’ Gathering (ALG) in Indonesia and pay a working visit to the country on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
PM Phúc’s visit to Indonesia affirms Việt Nam’s foreign policy of independence, diversification and mutilateralisation of international relations, and the importance that the country attaches to the relations with ASEAN member states and the strategic partnership with Indonesia.
 
Also, the visit aims to promote cooperative opportunities in the fields of trade, investment, defence, security, agriculture, environment, climate change, among others, thus developing the Việt Nam-Indonesia strategic partnership in a more comprehensive and practical manner.
Việt Nam and Indonesia set up diplomatic relations on December 30, 1955, but the year 1990 marked the start of a new period in bilateral ties with the historic visit of President Suharto to Việt Nam in November that year. 
New milestones in bilateral ties included the signing of the “Framework of Friendly and Comprehensive Partnership Entering the 21st Century” and the Agreement on the Delimitation of Continental Shelf in June 2003 during President Megawati Soekarno’s visit, and the official establishment of their strategic partnership during President Trương Tấn Sang’s state visit to Indonesia in 2013.
Particularly, the visit to Indonesia by Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the first by a General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam to Indonesia, in August 2017 opened a new chapter in bilateral relations. 
The two nations have inked a line-up of co-operation agreements across various sectors, with the latest being the Plan of Action for the Implementation of Strategic Partnership during 2019-23 signed in August.
Localities of both sides have enhanced cooperative ties, with partnerships being set up between several pairs of cities and provinces such as Kiên Giang Province and West Kalimantan, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province and Padang City, Đà Nẵng City and Semarang City, capital cities of Hà Nội and Jakarta, Huế City and Yogyakarta City, and Sóc Trăng Province and Lampang Province.
Over the past years, the two countries have enjoyed growing trade revenue, with US$4.6 billion recorded in 2012, $5.6 billion in 2016, more than $6.5 billion in 2017, and $5.3 billion in the first eight months of this year. They are striving for $10 billion in two-way trade in the future. Việt Nam’s major exports to Indonesia are rice, crude oil, cement, electronics spare parts and agricultural products. Meanwhile, the country imports from Indonesia fertiliser, gasoline, equipment, paper and confectionary.
As of June 2018, Indonesia ranked 5th in ASEAN and 30th out of 126 countries and territories investing in Việt Nam, with $514 million in 71 projects. Indonesian investors are interested in oil and gas exploitation, mining, banking, hotels, wood processing, fibre production and garments. 
Meanwhile, Việt Nam has so far invested in 13 projects with total registered capital of $54.7 million in Indonesia, most of which are in oil and mining. 
Regarding security-defence ties, the two countries have maintained delegation exchanges, and implemented co-operation agreements on officer training and joint search and rescue activities.
The two countries are working to expand collaboration and experience sharing in the fields of legislation and justice at both central and local levels. Cultural and sports exchange activities have also received due attention. 
Also, they have inked Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to bolster co-operation in fisheries, agriculture, finance and energy. — VNS