Jakarta (Indonesia Window) - Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has expressed optimism that defense cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia would be more and more enhanced in the future as the two countries have many similarities.

The statement was delivered by Defense Minister Prabowo after having a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamad bin Sabu at the Malaysian Ministry of Defense office in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday (Nov 14), as quoted from the Indonesian Defense Ministry website.

"I have held talks with His Excellency the Malaysian Minister of Defense. We have a lot of common views and thoughts. Therefore, I am very optimistic that in the future the relations and cooperation on defence between Indonesia and Malaysia will get better and better," the Indonesian Minister of Defense said.

Defense Minister Prabowo further added he had received a direction from the President of the Republic of Indonesia to maintain and strengthen relations and friendship with Malaysia that had been well established so far.

Such cooperation which has been developed by the two countries included education and training programs, as well as defense industry.

"We want to look for better forms of cooperation, such as officer and student exchanges between Indonesia and Malaysia, and also cooperation in the fields of engineering and defense industry," the Indonesian Defense Minister said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamad bin Sabu also expressed his belief that under the leadership of Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, defense cooperation between the two countries would continue to be maintained and increased.

Prabowo Subianto's honorary visit to his Malaysian counterpart was his first official visit as the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia to a fellow country which is also a neighboring country.

Reporting by Indonesia Window