Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (left) meets with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on July 20.(Photo: MFA Indonesia) 

Widodo welcomed the official visit of Son during which he would co-chair the fourth meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC-4) with Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in the context that the two countries have just reopened their doors, demonstrating their determination to promote the Viet Nam-Indonesia strategic partnership, especially when the two sides are set to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the establishment of this partnership in 2023.

 The President also congratulated Viet Nam on its important achievements in the COVID-19 pandemic control and regaining the momentum of rapid socio-economic development, and especially the successful hosting of the 31^st SEA Games in May.

 The Vietnamese diplomat thanked and conveyed to President Widodo the greetings of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other senior Vietnamese leaders; reaffirming Viet Nam’s consistent view that it always attaches importance to and wishes to further develop the strategic partnership with Indonesia.

 Viet Nam also expressed confidence that Indonesia will successfully fulfil the presidency of G20, implement the "Indonesia Vision 2045" and become a developed country by the 100th anniversary of its independence in 2045.

 Son said that at the JCBC-4 meeting, he and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi would review what the two sides have been doing to date, difficulties and problems that need to be resolved since JCBC-3 held in Hanoi in 2018, as well as proposing directions to strengthen cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels in order to effectively carry out the Action Programme to implement the strategic partnership between the two countries for the 2019-2023 period.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (left) meets with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on July 20.(Photo: MFA Indonesia) 

 He expressed his wish that the President would support the two sides in promoting the exchange of delegations and contacts at all levels; reducing barriers and promoting trade in a more balanced direction; signing at the earliest time a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral rice cooperation for the next four years; removing obstacles and creating favourable conditions for businesses of the two countries to expand investment, especially in fields of fisheries, high technology, and digital economy; providing technical support for and facilitating the imports of Halal products of Vietnamese origin into the Indonesian market.

 He also asked the Indonesian authorities to increase the frequency of flights and consider opening new routes connecting popular tourist destinations between the two countries; continue to closely coordinate to effectively deal with issues arising at sea.

 Son also highly appreciated the cooperation relationship between the two countries at regional and international forums, and affirmed that Viet Nam supports Indonesia in its role as ASEAN Chair in 2023.

 Expressing his delight at the increasingly strong and extensive development of the bilateral cooperation relationship between Viet Nam and Indonesia, Widodo suggested that the two sides build an action plan to develop the strategic partnership for the 2024-2028 period, moving towards the goal of 15 billion USD in bilateral trade by 2028; continue to promote economic cooperation, trade and investment ties, and people-to-people exchanges.

 The President thanked and asked Son to convey his greetings to the senior Vietnamese leaders./.