TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia and Britain have agreed to renew a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defense cooperation that was inked in 2012.

The two countries reached the agreement at the third Indonesia-Britain Joint Defense Cooperation Dialogue held at the British Ministry of Defense, the Indonesian Embassy in London informed in a statement released on Saturday.

“Indonesia-Britain defense relations have a strategic value for Indonesia, particularly to strengthen the capacity of defense human resources and advance the defense industry,” the Indonesian Ambassador to Britain, Desra Percaya, told the Indonesian delegation during the meeting.

Director general of defense strategy at the Defense Ministry, Major General Rodon Pedrason, led the Indonesian delegation, which comprised representatives from the Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the National Defense Forces (TNI).

Meanwhile, the British delegation was led by Air Vice Marshall Alastair Smith, Assistant Chief of Defense Staff on Military Strategy and Global Engagement.

JDCD is a bilateral dialogue in the defense field that the two countries initiated in June 2019, coinciding with the commemoration of 70 years of Indonesia-Britain bilateral relations.

The two countries host the dialogue in rotation. In 2021, the dialogue was held in Britain.

This year, the dialogue covered several areas of defense cooperation such as the political and security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, capacity building, and the defense industry, the Indonesian Embassy informed.

In addition, the third JDCD also evaluated the implementation of the outcome of the second JDCD as well as future concrete programs that the two countries have agreed upon, it said.

The defense cooperation between the two countries has been deemed comprehensive and included humanitarian aid and disaster mitigation in the wake of a powerful earthquake and tsunami that devastated Central Sulawesi capital Palu in 2018, it noted.

The cooperation also covers military education and transfer of technology in the defense industry, the embassy said.

Britain has expressed an interest in strengthening its presence in the rest of the world following its exit from the European Union. The British interest is contained in the Global Britain vision, the embassy noted.

Specifically, Britain has described the Indo-Pacific region as one of the strategic areas for developing cooperation.

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ANTARA