Moon Desk: Türkiye and Indonesia inked two agreements and five memorandums of understanding on Monday with boosting bilateral cooperation in their sights as top Turkish officials visit the country for a summit of the G20.
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.
Formation of High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council
On a planned 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 Indonesia-Türkiye Strategic Partnership in 2012,” he said.
Subianto also conveyed his condolences over a recent deadly terror bombing on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue on Sunday.
For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu vowed to eradicate terror both within his country and in its region.
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 defense industry, research, forestry, environment, and development, Cavusoglu congratulated Indonesia for its successful G20 chairmanship.
“As two major powers in the Islamic world, our cooperation is vital for all Muslims worldwide,” Cavusoglu added.
2 agreements, 5 memorandums signed
At the event, 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 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 was 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.
