Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

The trip, made at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo from December 21 to 23, held great significance as it marks a new milestone in the Viet Nam - Indonesia strategic partnership, helping consolidate the political foundation and giving a new impetus to bilateral cooperation in all fields, the Foreign Minister told media.

It obtained comprehensive, substantive, and concrete outcomes, especially in important areas, he noted, elaborating that leaders of the two countries reached high consensus on enhancing political trust through frequent meetings and mutual visits at all levels, promoting ties in all aspects and effectively carrying out the signed agreements, toward building an action plan for the implementation of the strategic partnership for 2024 - 2028.

The two sides signed and exchanged important cooperation agreements on fighting terrorism; combating the trafficking of drugs, psychoactive substances, and precursor substances; and the energy and mineral resource sectors.

The two Presidents highly valued their countries’ completion of negotiations on the delimitation of exclusive economic zones in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Son said.

Another notable outcome was that bilateral economic, trade, and investment ties were given more momentum as both sides affirmed their determination to boost balanced and sustainable trade growth and raise the revenue to 15 billion USD or higher by 2028.

Bilateral trade increased strongly to approximate 13 billion USD in the first 11 months of 2022, the highest level so far, compared to the 11.5 billion USD recorded in the whole 2021.

President Phuc asked Indonesia to remove trade barriers and trade remedies against Vietnamese goods, further open its market to Vietnamese exports, and cooperate to develop the Halal industry.

The two sides agreed to facilitate Vietnamese and Indonesian enterprises’ investment in new and potential areas such as digital economy, digital transformation, renewable energy, and sustainable development.

They affirmed the continuation of close cooperation in other important fields, particularly defence, security, maritime cooperation, and connectivity between the countries’ peoples, localities, and businesses, according to the Foreign Minister.

In addition, the Vietnamese and Indonesian leaders straightforwardly exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern, including the East Sea issue.

They agreed on major orientations for reinforcing coordination at regional and international forums, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations, and fostering sub-regional connectivity and cooperation within ASEAN to help guarantee energy and food security.

President Phuc underlined Viet Nam’s support for Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023 so as to promote the bloc’s solidarity and centrality.

With the abovementioned achievements, the visit has opened up new opportunities for bilateral cooperation and demonstrated the leaders’ determination to develop the Viet Nam - Indonesia strategic partnership to a new height, thereby generating practical benefits for the two peoples and contributing to a united and self-reliant ASEAN Community for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world at large, FM Son added./.