Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong.

What are the most important areas of cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia in recent times?

Vietnam and Indonesia have a tradition of friendly relations, built by the leaders of President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno.

Generations of leaders and people of the two countries worked hard to nurture this relationship over the past 68 years.

Indonesia was the first country in Southeast Asia with which Vietnam officially established diplomatic relations in 1955.

After 1975, Indonesian President Suharto was the first head of state in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific to visit Vietnam in 1990.

Relations between the two countries developed rapidly after Vietnam joined ASEAN, establishing a comprehensive partnership in 2003.

Vietnam became Indonesia's only strategic partner in Southeast Asia when the two countries upgraded relations in 2013.

At multilateral forums, the two countries always have close coordination and shared views on many issues of strategic importance, associated with maintaining peace, stability and security in the region.

Therefore, the close relationship between the two countries is not only strategic to the development of each country but also contributes to peace, stability and development of Southeast Asia particularly and the Indian Ocean-Pacific Ocean in general.

Economic cooperation is making great strides. Indonesia is currently one of Vietnam's leading partners in the region.

What are the prospects for these areas of cooperation in the coming time?

In the coming time, the two sides will continue to further promote the strong traditional friendship.

The signing of the action program for the new period 2024-2028 will further deepen the areas of cooperation between the two countries, while also opening up opportunities for cooperation in new fields such as energy transformation, digital transformation and infrastructure as agreed by senior leaders of the two countries.

Regarding the economy, Vietnam and Indonesia are both economies with a lot of potential, emerging and developing rapidly.

The two sides need to take advantage of new opportunities, cooperate more closely to turn challenges into opportunities, and turn competitive pressure into motivation for innovation and development.

Vietnam and Indonesia also need to continue to improve the legal framework for cooperative activities, promoting the effectiveness of the joint committee on economic, scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries.

The two countries also need to research and seek cooperation opportunities in new fields, taking advantage of the opportunities brought by Industry 4.0.

As active members of ASEAN, what does close cooperation between Indonesia and Vietnam mean in promoting peace and prosperity in the region?

The two countries are both active members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), always cooperating to contribute to the development of the ASEAN Economic Community.

In ASEAN, Indonesia is the largest market with more than 280 million consumers, Vietnam is the third largest market with 100 million people and impressive economic growth.

During the early period of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam, as ASEAN Chair, coordinated with member countries, including Indonesia, to flexibly respond to the pandemic situation, restore the supply chain, ensure the production and business environment and promote ASEAN's self-reliance and internal strength.

As Chair of ASEAN in 2023, Indonesia also focuses on growth to strongly promote the recovery momentum of ASEAN countries, and overcome challenges in the current global economic context that is difficult to predict.

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