MANILA: Indonesia and the Philippines agreed to increase cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, boost the protection of migrant workers, and improve defence and trade ties.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo welcomed agreements signed during his visit to Manila, the last leg of a three-country trip in South-East Asia.
Before the Philippines, where he met President Benigno Aquino, Joko also visited Brunei and Malaysia. The four countries are members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which also includes Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
“I am happy that the cooperation to combat illicit drug trafficking has been signed, and we discussed the potential that we would like to offer on the trade of defence equipment,” Joko said.
The visit came after Jakarta postponed the execution of a Filipino woman convicted of trafficking 2.6 kilograms of heroin in April 2010, following a request for review by the Philippines.
The two leaders did not mention if the case was discussed in their meeting.
Aquino said one of the highlights of Joko’s trip was the signing of an agreement on protecting migrant workers.
The declaration outlined measures that each country would take “to assist each other’s nationals through diplomatic missions overseas,” Aquino said.
On the economic front, Joko called on Philippine companies to invest in Indonesia.
“I would like to increase our trade volume to double … by 2016,” he said.
Indonesia was the Philippines’ eleventh largest trade partner in 2013, with total trade amounting to 3.62 billion dollars, according to official figures.
