VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia and India signed 15 documents of memorandum of understanding on cooperation in a number of areas, witnessed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (30/5). After a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Joko Widodo told reporters that Indonesia is ready to make closer and stronger cooperation with India. The President said that the strategic value of the relations between the two countries is shown in the renewal of cooperation in the field of defense. The two countries also agreed to form the Task Force Units for infrastructure development, related to the port in Sabang, in Malacca Strait as one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. Moreover Indonesian and India agreed to cooperate in Exploration and Space utilization for peace goal, rail sector, science and technology, capacity development of the state civil servants, dialogue between government and interaction of research institute, medicine regulation, cooperation of Bali Province and Uttarakkhand as well as health cooperation. In the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Joko Widodo especially demanded the lowering tariffs of import duty on Indonesian palm oil products to India. The President said that Prime Minister Modi agreed to review the policy related to the palm oil import duty. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India wants to increase trade values up to 50 billion US dollars in 2025. This is in line with the increasing trend of Indian investment in Indonesia which currently reaches to 18.7 billion US dollars. After bilateral meeting at the Merdeka Palace, President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the India-Indonesia Kite Exhibition at Monumen Nasional (Monas) area. The Kite Exhibition was aimed to increase the two countries relationships. On the occassion, President Joko Widodo and Prime Minster Modi played kites together. During the event Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and spoke to thousands of Indian diasporas in Jakarta. In his speech, Prime Minister Modi said, that the presence of Indian diasporas has contributed significantly in promoting bilateral relations between India and Indonesia. After his visit in Indonesia Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Malaysia on Thursday (31/5), then to Singapore.