Vietnam and Indonesia could promote the bilateral strategic partnership in a more pragmatic manner via stepping up cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in which both are members.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam(CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong meets President of Indonesia Joko Widodo on the occasion of his visit to Indonesia in 2017. (Photo: VNA)

The recommendation was made by Director of Southeast Asia under Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denny Abdi in a recent interview granted to Vietnam News Agency as the two countries mark the fifth year of their strategic partnership this year.

According to Denny Abdi, Vietnam and Indonesia have realized many targets set in the roadmap for the first five-year period since the establishment of strategic partnership in 2013 in the fields of defence-security, economy, aquaculture, and social-cultural affairs.

He recalled that the third meeting of the bilateral cooperation committee at foreign ministerial level in Hanoi in April this year had reviewed the two nations’ five-year strategic partnership and reached agreement that the two sides will actively work to deepen and enhance the strategic partnership in the next five years.

The official unveiled that Indonesia is actively implementing this policy, adding that there is no obstacle in the bilateral relations as the two sides have always been open and candid while working together.

He believed that the bilateral cooperation will reap good outcomes thanks to the sound relations between the two countries.

However, the official also pointed to some challenges that Vietnam and Indonesia encounter in the bilateral cooperation, including competition in the field of economy.

To overcome this challenge, the two countries should actively work together and share common economic values, he said.

Abdi went on to say that as both Vietnam and Indonesia are big countries in ASEAN in terms of population and economy, they have great potential for cooperation.

The two sides should join hands to tap the potential, especially regarding human resources and new technologies, he suggested.

As ASEAN plays a crucial role in the Asian-Pacific region and the world at large, Vietnam and Indonesia also play a key role in relations between the association and non-member countries as well as international organisations, Abdi said.

He expressed his optimism about the future bilateral relations based on their roadmap of developing strategic partnership.

The two sides should increase sharing for better mutual understanding and more effective cooperation in both regional and international issues, he recommended./.

VNF/VNA