Russia welcomes the launch of talks between the Eurasian Economic Union and Indonesia to set up a free trade zone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a press conference following talks with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
"We confirmed our intention to further diversify trade, including by expanding our cooperation on high-tech products. We mentioned energy, oil and gas, transport infrastructure, civil aviation, mechanical engineering, computer and telecommunications technology and the halal industry as very promising areas. We support the early convening of the 13th meeting of the Russian-Indonesian joint commission on trade-economic and technical cooperation. We strongly support the talks being launched between Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union to create a free trade zone," the minister said.
Lavrov also said that Russia and Indonesia are developing a joint agreement on cooperation in cybersecurity. "In practical terms, we discussed such a topic as international cybersecurity," the Russian minister said. - "Russia and Indonesia are developing a joint agreement on cooperation in this area".
According to him, the sides are also closely cooperating in discussing this issue on international platforms, including the UN and ASEAN.
Russia-Indonesia partnership declaration
Russia hopes that Russian and Indonesian presidents Vladimir Putin and Joko Widodo can meet soon and sign a declaration on strategic partnership, Lavrov said.
"As my good friend and colleague (Indonesian foreign minister) said, we are finalizing a declaration that will consolidate the existing fact that our relations are relations of strategic partnership. And we hope that soon our leaders will be able to meet and sign this important document," he said.
The minister also noted that the bilateral cooperation was highly appreciated during the talks.
The declaration on strategic partnership was planned to be signed at the summit of the leaders of the two countries in Indonesia in 2020, but the visit of the Russian president had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS