President Phuc’s visit marks new stride in Vietnam – Indonesia ties

In a recent media interview Ambassador Thong assessed that bilateral relations have grown steadily on the basis of friendship and mutual trust, developing into a strategic partnership that covers all fields of co-operation and is a future-oriented relationship.

The forthcoming visit by President Phuc will therefore serve to affirm the two countries’ strategic role towards each other, along with their common strategic interests. It will also substantially contribute to enhancing mutual understanding and political trust, thereby creating an important political foundation for expanding ties between the two Governments, parliaments, localities, and peoples, as well as fostering co-operation at multiple levels and across many areas, he noted.

Highlighting major achievements and milestones in bilateral ties, the diplomat said both sides possess untapped potential, as well as many complementary strengths. Indeed, both sides are active members of ASEAN and hold certain roles and statures within the region.

As a means of further advancing bilateral linkages amid the joint strategic partnership turning 10 next year, he believes that the two sides should prioritise stepping up ties in specific areas.

In terms of politics and security, both countries should seek to promote unanimity and co-ordination at multilateral organisations and forums in a bid to help strengthen the bloc’s solidarity and centrality, whilst maintaining peace, stability, co-operation, and development in the region and the world. This is along with pressing on with opinion exchanges and meetings at all levels, bringing into play existing co-operation mechanisms, ensuring policies are in line with Indonesia’s priorities towards the region, especially when the archipelago nation will serve as the ASEAN Chair ahead in 2023, as well as launching a programme for implementing the strategic partnership for the next phase.

Both nations should also foster greater economic, trade, and investment links, devise measures to raise bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2028, and reinforce economic connections, including developing balanced trade and tapping into the potential in new aspects, especially energy transition. Other efforts include conducting negotiations to remove non-trade barriers, tackling difficulties, and creating more favourable conditions for businesses to access each other’s markets,  the Vietnamese Ambassador noted.

They must enhance people-to-people connectivity via the exchange of art troupes, mass organizations, and localities. Indeed, it is also important to work together in order to turn Indonesia into one of the most popular destinations for Vietnamese students in Southeast Asia, whilst scholarships for each other’s students should increase, according to the diplomat.

Both sides boast huge tourism potential which should be optimised more strongly through products linking the countries and communications as a means of deepening mutual understanding of each other’s histories, traditions, and cultures.

He therefore suggested increasing the flight frequency of current air routes and opening new ones in order to connect their respective tourist destinations, adding that tourism collaboration projects should take into account Indonesia’s relocation of its capital and development of new regions.

For its part, the Vietnamese Embassy will continue acting as a bridge and working hard to promote bilateral relations, he stated.