Vietnam, Indonesia elevate ties to comprehensive strategic partnership

The agreement was reached during talks between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.

Prabowo emphasised the special significance of the Vietnamese leader's visit, noting that it coincides with the 70th anniversary of Vietnam-Indonesia diplomatic relations and serves as a strong impetus for advancing the bilateral partnership.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam holds talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on March 10. (Photo: VNA)

Recalling his visit to Vietnam in September 2024, the Indonesian leader expressed his deep admiration for Vietnam’s past struggle for independence, its achievements in national development, and the legacy of President Ho Chi Minh. He underscored the historical parallels between the two nations, which share a history of resisting colonial rule and an aspiration to become high-income, developed countries by 2045.

He congratulated Vietnam on the country’s achievements after nearly 40 years of Doi Moi (Renewal), affirming that Vietnam has always been an important partner of Indonesia in the region, and his country wishes to further promote ties with Vietnam.

For his part, Lam underlined that Vietnam always attaches great importance to and gives top priority to relations with Indonesia, a leading important country in the region.

He commended Indonesia’s recent achievements in national development and its growing regional and global roles, expressing his belief that Indonesia will secure an 8% growth rate annually and become a developed country in 2045 to mark its 100th founding anniversary.

The Vietnamese leader briefed his host on the situation of Vietnam and its efforts to enter a new era - that of the nation's rise.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto witness the exchange of cooperation agreements between the two countries (Photo: VNA)

The leaders hailed the remarkable progress in bilateral ties over the past 70 years, especially since the establishment of bilateral strategic partnership in 2013.

They affirmed that the upgrade of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership is a historic milestone, bringing their ties to a new era of cooperation that is deeper, more comprehensive and substantive for the benefit of the two countries' people as well as peace, development, and prosperity of ASEAN and the world.

Lam and Prabowo affirmed their commitment to deepening political trust through increased high-level exchanges across all channels, including Party, Government, and parliamentary cooperation, as well as expanded people-to-people, locality-to-locality, and business connections.

They pledged to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms and soon develop an Action Programme to fully leverage and elevate collaboration across all fields.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen defence and security cooperation, information sharing, search and rescue coordination, and exchange of experience in combating transnational crimes, particularly online fraud networks, human trafficking, forced labour, and terrorism threats.

They concurred to expand and deepen economic cooperation, fostering stronger economic linkages based on mutual benefit and shared development. Both sides pledged to remove trade barriers and obstacles, support businesses in import-export activities, particularly in agriculture and aquaculture, and strive for 18 billion USD in bilateral trade in a balanced manner.

Party General Secretary To Lam signs the guestbook at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on March 10 (Photo: VNA)

The two leaders also committed to enhancing agricultural cooperation and ensuring food security, while encouraging and facilitating investments by businesses from both countries, especially in emerging sectors such as digital economy, green economy, energy transition, electric vehicle ecosystem development, e-commerce, smart logistics, digital payment, software design and outsourcing, AI-driven technological solutions, and Halal products.

Prabowo highly valued and expressed his hope for Vietnamese major enterprises, including Vingroup and TH True Milk, to expand their business and investment in Indonesia.

Both sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in specialised fields, and expand collaboration in science and technology, innovation, and information technology, with a view to establishing a digital partnership and advancing the digital economy. They committed to enhancing cooperation in emerging sectors, including green economy, digital economy, innovation, science-technology, and digital transformation, while enhancing people-to-people exchanges, particularly among the younger generations, through cultural, sports, and educational exchanges, tourism cooperation, and air connectivity.

The Vietnamese and Indonesian leaders highly valued the consistent coordination and mutual support between the two countries in regional and international forums, particularly ASEAN, the United Nations, and the Non-Aligned Movement. They reaffirmed their commitment to closer collaboration within ASEAN to build a stronger and more cohesive bloc, enhance its central role, and reinforce intra-bloc solidarity.

Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two sides emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea. They underscored the need to resolve disputes through peaceful means, avoid the threat or use of force, adhere to international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), and refrain from actions that could escalate tensions and undermine peace and stability in the region.

Lam took the occasion to invite Prabowo to visit Vietnam and Indonesian leaders to attend the fourth Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) Summit, scheduled for April in Hanoi. Prabowo Subianto gladly accepted the invitation and expressed his hope to visit Vietnam again soon.

Following the talks, Lam and Prabowo witnessed the exchange of cooperation agreements and held a press briefing to announce the outcomes of their discussions. On this occasion, they officially declared the elevation of Vietnam–Indonesia relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.