Indonesia And Turkey Discuss Opportunities To Increase Bilateral Cooperation

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan conveyed information after a bilateral meeting at the Pancasila Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, Saturday (15/7/2023). BETWEEN PHOTOs/Aditya Pradana Putra/foc.

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi held a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss improving bilateral partnerships between the two countries.

Retno said that his party welcomed the cooperation between business actors between the two countries in the production and distribution of electric buses, natural gas cooperation, the construction of the Trans Sumatra toll road, and investment in the wood processing industry in Sumatra.

"I invite the private Turkish sector to follow (cooperation) choosing Indonesia as an industrial hub for the Asia-Pacific market and a source of industrial raw materials," Retno said at a joint press conference which was followed online as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, July 15.

During the meeting, the two countries also discussed the continuation of the implementation of bilateral strategic agreements between the government and business actors signed in November 2022 in Bali.

The agreed agreement covers the fields of defense, forestry, the environment, research and innovation.

Indonesia and Turkey have improved their relationship to a new, more strategic order by forming a High-Level Strategic Council (HLSC) last year.

The council became a forum for the two countries to regularly discuss bilateral, regional and multilateral strategic issues that are of common interest.

At the meeting, Retno conveyed President Joko Widodo's invitation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to make a bilateral visit to Indonesia.

Foreign Minister Fidan, who first visited Indonesia since taking office in June, said that Indonesia is a strategic partner of Turkey, and the two countries have been in friendship and partnership for a long time.

"We appreciate our relationship, and are determined to strengthen this partnership in possible areas," Fidan said.

"This mechanism (HLSC) will be a concrete progress to bring our collaboration to a new order," he continued. Fidan also thanked Indonesia for being one of the leading countries that helped Turkey after being rocked by a great earthquake last February.