VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in bilateral talks to discuss economic and maritime issues on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit in Osaka, Japan, Saturday.

"I believe the ASEAN and India can deepen Indo-Pacific cooperation," Jokowi remarked during the meeting held at INTEX in Osaka.

The Indonesian leader lauded India for supporting the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific adopted by ASEAN leaders during their 34th summit held in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 22, 2019. Indo-Pacific is a concept of cooperation among several nations located in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. The cooperation focuses on the principles of transparency and respect for the international law.

Jokowi encouraged both nations to make all-out efforts to achieve the bilateral trade target of US$50 billion in 2025. He highlighted the need for both nations to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers to realize the target.

He specifically called on Modi to pay attention to the new import tariffs applied on the export of palm oil from Indonesia since early January 2019.

"We need to encourage our trade ministers to go ahead with the discussion to achieve a win-win solution, including a proposal for trade-off between palm oil and other commodities," the president noted in a press statement of the Presidential Secretariat's deputy for protocol, press, and media, Bey Machmudin.

In the maritime field, the president highlighted the significance of increasing business interactions within the framework of maritime cooperation between both nations. Interactions could be initiated between businessmen of Aceh in Indonesia and those of Andaman-Nicobar in India.

Hence, he called on India to partake in the development of infrastructure connectivity in Sabang, Indonesia.

In the meantime, Modi warmly welcomed trade and investment cooperation between Andaman-Nicobar and Aceh. The cooperation is viewed as being practical in nature and will benefit both nations.

During the meeting, Jokowi was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister/State Secretary Pratikno, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Presidential Special Staff Adita Irawan, and Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Arifin Tasrif. (ant)