(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Indonesian counterpart
Joko Widodo met on Monday to exchange views on bilateral relations
in Indonesia's Bali island, as the two countries inked several
agreements in various fields to further enhance bilateral
cooperation, reports citing .
Erdogan and Widodo discussed all aspects of the bilateral ties
between Türkiye and Indonesia, and steps to enhance
cooperation.
The Turkish president thanked Widodo for the 'successful' term
presidency of the G-20 and extended his support for Indonesia's
assuming MIKTA's term presidency from Türkiye next April.
Established in 2013, MIKTA is a partnership made up of Mexico,
Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Australia. All five countries
in the group are G-20 members.
'The high-level strategic cooperation council mechanism that we
have established together today is of historic importance for our
bilateral relations,' he added.
Also, Türkiye and Indonesia inked two agreements and five
memorandums of understanding with boosting bilateral cooperation in
their sights as top Turkish officials visit the country for a
summit of the G-20.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Indonesian Defense Minister
Prabowo Subianto said the event highlighted 'the strength and the
depth' of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
'The agreements signed today are not just (about)
government-to-government cooperation in various strategic sectors
such as in the field of defense,' Subianto said, adding that they
also sought to step up cooperation between businesses.
He said the ties between the two countries provide 'concrete
deliverables for the benefit and prosperity of the people of both
Indonesia and Türkiye.'
Hoping for the accords to be 'swiftly implemented,' the
Indonesian defense chief said they would 'inspire and motivate'
other deals, especially for free trade.
On the bilateral meeting between the Turkish and Indonesian
presidents, he said the two leaders would 'announce a new level of
cooperation, with the formation of the High-Level Strategic
Cooperation Council.'
'This is an important milestone in the Indonesia-Türkiye
relationship since the establishment of the Indonesia-Türkiye
Strategic Partnership in 2012,' he said.
For his part, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hailed ties
between the two countries, saying there had been 'great progress in
our ties in recent years.'
'We will soon witness a historic moment in our relations as our
presidents will establish the High-Level Strategic Cooperation
Council,' he added.
After affirming that the deals would further strengthen
relations in many fields including the defense industry, research,
forestry, environment, and development, Cavusoglu congratulated
Indonesia for its successful G-20 chairpersonship.
'As two major powers in the Islamic world, our cooperation is
vital for all Muslims worldwide,' Cavusoglu added.
At the event, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Subianto inked
one of the agreements in the field of defense, with another focused
on forestry signed between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry
of Indonesia and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of
Türkiye.
One of the five memorandums of understanding that were also
initialed at the event was on research, technology, and innovation
cooperation.
Another was signed in the field of environment, while a third
was on development cooperation.
Joint production and distribution of electric buses were the
focus of the fourth memorandum of understanding, while the last was
on the development of the trans-Sumatera toll road, currently under
construction to stretch across the Indonesian island of
Sumatra.
The meeting came ahead of the G-20 summit, which will be held on
Nov. 15-16 under the theme 'Recover Together-Recover Stronger.'
Erdogan arrived in Indonesia's Bali Island on Monday to attend
the G-20 summit. He was welcomed at Ngurah Rai International
Airport by Indonesia's Minister of State Secretariat Pratikno,
Minister of Health Budi Gunadi, and Governor of Bali Wayan Koster
as well as Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Cemil Miroglu.
The president is accompanied by first lady Emine Erdogan,
Cavusoglu, Akar, Treasure and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati,
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirishci, Communications
Director Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın,
Defense Industries Presidency head Ismail Demir and ruling Justice
and Development Party spokesperson Omer Celik.
On Nov. 15, Erdogan will attend the first session on food and
energy security and address all leaders and delegation heads.
Following lunch with G-20 leaders, Erdogan will attend the
second session on health and will address the participants.
On the final day of the summit, the president will hold
bilateral meetings and hold a press conference.
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany,
India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom,
the United States and the European Union are G-20 member states.
Spain is also invited as a permanent guest. Russia's Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Bali to attend the summit on
behalf of President Vladimir Putin.
Türkiye and Indonesia enjoy close and multifaceted relations,
with a wide range of opportunities for further cooperation.
Indonesia, which is the world's third-largest democracy, is also
the most populous Muslim-majority country and occupies a strategic
location between the Indian and the Pacific Oceans.
Türkiye was one of the first nations that recognized Indonesia's
independence. Diplomatic relations were established in 1950 and the
Turkish Embassy in Jakarta opened on April 10, 1957.
With the increase of mutual high-level visits since 2004, the
bilateral relations gained new momentum and both countries decided
to upgrade their ties to a strategic partnership. The two countries
signed the joint declaration“Türkiye and Indonesia: Toward an
Enhanced Partnership in a New World Setting” in Jakarta in April
2011.
The official visit of President Widodo to Türkiye in July 2017
has brought new perspectives to the bilateral cooperation,
especially in the spheres of trade, health care, energy and the
defense industry.