Indonesia's media highlight close ties with Vietnam

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (left) and Speaker of the People’s Representative Council (lower house) of Indonesia Puan Maharani (Photo: VNA)

According to the Voice of Indonesia (VOI), Speaker of the People’s Representative Council (lower house) of Indonesia Puan Maharani said at a joint press conference after her talks with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue that the two sides emphasised the importance of bilateral cooperation and the backing of ASEAN's solidity in maintaining peace and stability in the region, through the support of parliamentary diplomacy.

The speaker expected that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two legislatures signed on August 4 would result in real impacts on the strategic partnership between Indonesia and Vietnam in various areas such as trade, investment, clean and renewable energy, and connectivity.

She expressed her pleasure that trade value between Indonesia and Vietnam increases year by year, reaching 11 billion USD last year, while saying that she supports the two government's bilateral trade target of 15 billion USD by 2028 by lifting non-tariff barriers.

Regarding tourism, she suggested expanding direct air routes between the two countries, saying that the two sides are striving to launch a direct route linking their capital cities.

According to the VOI, Vietnamese NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue recalled the closeness between Vietnam and Indonesia, while expressing his hope that bilateral parliamentary cooperation will contribute to further tightening the friendship between the two countries.

Outcomes of the talks between the heads of the Indonesian and Vietnamese legislative bodies, and the signing of the MoU were also covered by many news outlets, such as Detik.com, Tempo.com, Akurat.co. They said the signing of the MoU on parliamentary cooperation between Indonesia and Vietnam will encourage information exchange, consultation, training, capacity building and exchange of visits by NA delegations and have an impact on political stability in the region./.