India, Indonesia sign two MoUs; to expand defence cooperation
Jakarta: India and Indonesia today signed agreements in the fields of renewable energy and culture and discussed possibilities of expanding cooperation in counter-terrorism and defence.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, who met his Indonesian counterpart Jusuf Kalla, said that ways to diversify and increase bilateral trade as well to encourage investments in each other’s country through private sectors were also discussed.
“For this we will be working to provide a robust and contemporary legal framework,” he told reporters. “We have also discussed possibilities of expanding our cooperation in defence and counter-terrorism through intensification of our existing mechanisms,” Ansari said.
The Vice President, who is here on the invitation of Kalla, said that the two countries share similar positions on several global and regional issues including climate change, maritime security and freedom of seas in the South China Sea.
Giving details of one of the agreements signed, Ansari said that India and Indonesia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in new and renewable energy sector.
“This cooperation is important as both India and Indonesia have committed themselves to reduce carbon emissions by 35 percent and 29 percent respectively by 2030,” he said. Ansari also said that a MoU for cooperation in cultural field was also signed.
He also thanked Indonesia for supporting India in organising ‘Sahabat India – The Festival of India in Indonesia’ earlier this year. Indonesia is the largest ASEAN member and India looks forward to its continued support as we move to increase our engagement with ASEAN member states as part of our Act East policy.
“We congratulate the Government of Indonesia for successfully organising 60th Asian African Conference Commemoration in April 2015 and for assuming chairmanship of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) last week,” he said.
