• Indonesia wants Vietnam to invest in seafood processing 

Addressing the ceremony, Le Ton Thanh, Chairman of the Vietnam-Indonesia Friendship Association in HCM City, said Vietnam and Indonesia have closely cooperated in dealing with common regional concerns, including East Sea related issues.

The two countries have also assisted each other to increase their role in ASEAN as an important politic-economic entity in the region, he said.

Thanh proposed that Vietnam and Indonesia further promote cooperation in the field of agriculture, fishing, food security, education, culture and tourism, as well as infrastructure development.

Bambang Tarsanto, the Indonesian Consul General in HCM City, said that trade turnover between the two countries reached US$4.7 billion in 2011, up 53 percent on 2010. He believes that it will reach the set target of US$5 billion in 2015.

The Indonesian Government will also grant Darmasiswa scholarships for 23 outstanding Vietnamese students in the 2012-2013 period, offering the opportunity to study Bahasa Indonesia arts, music and crafts, he said.