TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia and Turkey will soon realize cooperation in the industries of military equipment and shipbuilding, President Joko Widodo said on Friday.
"Cooperation in the military equipment sector and small shipbuilding industries will be realized immediately," he announced at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Merdeka Palace, following a meeting between delegations of the two countries.
He added that in the meeting, they had focused on subjects related to the economy, including identifying ways to eliminate trade barriers and realize free trade.
"We just set a target of settling the issues this year. We also discussed bureaucratic problems," the president pointed out.
Jokowi, as the president is also known, stated that both nations will cooperate in the development of power plants fueled by natural gas as well as introduce a direct flight between Turkey and Indonesia to boost tourism.
"We also agreed to open a direct flight for the Turkey-Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta-Denpasar route to boost tourism and cargo shipments between Indonesia and Turkey," he remarked.
The head of state further noted that they decided to establish a joint commission to explore existing potential in the two countries.
Besides economy, Indonesia and Turkey discussed terrorism and the situation in the Middle East, as well.
On the occasion, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that cooperation can foster mutually beneficial economic relations between the two countries.
"We will set up a business forum, which is important because it can lead to the development of new projects and serve as a platform to discuss global issues," he explained.
According to Erdogan, delegations of the two countries discussed the crisis in the Middle East, including the situation in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Egypt.
"Besides the economy, we also discussed global political and economic issues," Erdogan affirmed.
ANTARA
