VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesia and Turkey are committed to accelerating the completion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) discussions. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia and Turkeyye also welcomed the plan to hold the 5th CEPA negotiations this year.

"We believe that the finalization of CEPA will be a game changer and increase our bilateral trade and investment," Retno said after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as quoted from an official statement received by Indonesia Window here on Wednesday (2/5/2024).

Indonesia and Turkeyye also agreed to hold a 2+2 (two plus two) meeting, which is a meeting of the Foreign and Defense Ministers of the two countries. This meeting was held to increase cooperation between the two in the field of defense.

"We agreed to hold a 2+2 meeting and we welcome the ongoing military and defense dialogue. We also welcome strategic cooperation in the development of the defense industry," Retno said.

In this regard, Retno said that Indonesia-Turkiye are conducting joint production and marketing of Medium Weight Tanks (MWT). In addition, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia-Turkiye are committed to continuing cooperation in combating transnational crimes.

"We welcome the signing of the Security Cooperation Agreement as an umbrella of cooperation and hope that the MoU on countering terrorism and combating transnational crimes can be finalized soon," she explained.

The two countries also foster strategic cooperation in development cooperation and joint projects for countries in the South. For Türkiye, Indonesia is one of the first partners in the Asia Pacific region to establish the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSC) mechanism which was inaugurated in 2022 in Bali.

"Today, we also discussed preparations for the first meeting of the HLSC early next year, especially regarding potential concrete outcomes. We assigned our officials to further identify and accelerate the conclusion of potential agreements and outcomes for the successful organization of the first Indonesia-Turkey HLSC," Retno explained.