VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, held bilateral talks with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya on Monday to discuss cooperation in maritime security and safety and blue economy investment.

"Indonesia and Sri Lanka need to better increase economic cooperation," Pandjaitan said at the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the Archipelagic and Island State Forum (AID) in the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

The two countries need to make optimal use of bilateral cooperation to open up opportunities to promote the development of their economy, including maritime resource-based economy, he added.

"We warmly welcome and are ready to participate in boosting the two countries' economic growth. The framework of this cooperation will chiefly help Sri Lanka accelerate its economic growth," he said.

He further recalled Indonesia's initiatives to boost cooperation among developing countries through the "emerging economies cooperation" as a follow-up to a series of meetings at the G20 Summit in Bali last month.

In addition to economic cooperation, the two ministers agreed to explore the possibility of cooperation in the mining sector, sustainable fish farming, and maritime-based tourism.

Since Sri Lanka is prone to natural disasters, Indonesia considers it necessary to increase its cooperation with the South Asian country, particularly in disaster mitigation and disaster impact management.

"We can assist Sri Lanka through capacity-building in mitigating disasters," he said. (Antaranews)