JAKARTA: The Indonesian and Vietnamese foreign affairs ministers held a meeting here the other day in an attempt to boost the ties between two countries.
“The meeting will review the cooperation between Indonesia and Vietnam over the last three years to see what we have done and what we can improve,” said Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Mayerfas in a press conference here the other day.
The meeting was the first since a meeting in Hanoi in 2013. Among the matters discussed were economics and tourism cooperation.
The trade values between both countries reached US$5.8 billion in 2014, based on the Foreign Affairs Ministry data. The ambassador said that both countries aimed to reach $10 billion in trade by 2018.
Mayerfas also added that there were currently 30 Indonesian companies in Vietnam from various industrial sectors, including property, food, paper and farming.
“We also want both countries to get to know each other better as I think Indonesia has not fully understood Vietnam as a country,” he said. The mutual understanding was also intended to boost the tourist industry, he added.
Indonesia aims to double the number of Vietnamese tourists to Indonesia to 80,000 people this year from 40,000 last year. Meanwhile, there were 100,000 Indonesians who visited Vietnam last year.
