During the meeting with South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo discussed, among other things, an effort to increase the bilateral cooperation which has been going well for half a century.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo held a meeting with South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta on Wednesday (Jan. 18) afternoon.

During the meeting with the speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly, the president discussed, among other things, an effort to enhance the bilateral cooperation which has been going well for half a century, Indonesia’s House Speaker Puan Maharani said in a statement received by Indonesia Window here on Thursday.

"During the meeting we talked about the good relations between South Korea and Indonesia, which have been running for 50 years. This is a momentum in 2023 for us to increase and strengthen relations between Indonesia and South Korea," Puan Maharani said.

In the field of trade, the House speaker hopes that with the ratification of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA) on Jan. 1, 2023, trade relations between Indonesia and South Korea are expected to increase further.

"Since January 1, the IK-CEPA has been in force so that the trade relations between Indonesia and Korea are expected to increase in the years to come," Puan said, adding that Indonesia and South Korea also hoped that peace and harmony on the Korean Peninsula can be maintained.

Meanwhile, President Widodo asked for South Korea's support for Indonesia’s chairmanship this year.

"President Jokowi asked the chairman of the South Korean DPR and the South Korean government to support the chairmanship or presidency of the ASEAN Summit which is currently held by Indonesia or President Jokowi," Puan explained.

Indonesia received the ASEAN chairmanship from Cambodia and became the Chair of ASEAN 2023. The handover of the chairmanship took place at the closing ceremony of ASEAN’s 40th and 41st Summits and other related summits at the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel on Nov. 13, 2022.

Some time ago Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that Indonesia would hold flagship events during its chair in ASEAN, namely the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum with a focus on several activities, namely creative economy, youth conference on digital economy for SDGs, infrastructure forum, as well as business and investment summit.

Reporting by Indonesia Window