President Vo Van Thuong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the welcome ceremony in Hanoi. (Photo: WVR/Nguyen Hong)

The leader was seen off at Cat Bi International Airport in Hai Phong by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet, Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Tho, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong, and Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Denny Abdi, among others.

During his visit, President Widodo laid a wreath in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum in Hanoi and fallen combatants at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs in the capital city.

Following the official welcome ceremony, he held talks with President Vo Van Thuong, witnessed the singing of cooperation documents, met with the press and attended a banquet hosted by the Vietnamese leader.

The President had a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and the two leaders co-chaired a high-level business dialogue. He also met with Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue.

At the talks and meetings, the host leaders stressed the importance Vietnam attaches to the traditional relationship and strategic partnership between the two countries.

They highly valued achievements that Indonesia has recorded in both home and external affairs under the leadership of President Widodo over the past two tenures, and congratulated Indonesia on its successful performance of the G20 Presidency in 2022, and ASEAN and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Chairmanship last year.

The leaders noted their hope that Indonesia will successfully organise its upcoming general election and further develop, for peace and cooperation in the region and the world.

For his part, President Widodo expressed his delight to visit Vietnam for the second time in his capacity as the President of Indonesia, and thanked Vietnam for supporting Indonesia in performing the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, saying Indonesia wishes to enhance its traditional friendship and cooperation with Vietnam – its only strategic partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

President Vo Van Thuong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the martial arts and musical programme in Hanoi. (Photo: WVR/Nguyen Hong)

Both sides rejoiced at the strong, dynamic development of the bilateral strategic partnership, saying Indonesia is Vietnam’s third largest trading partner in ASEAN, while Vietnam is Indonesia’s fourth biggest trading partner in the group. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade still grew significantly, from 9 billion USD in 2019 to nearly 14 billion USD last year.

For future cooperation orientations, the leaders consented to foster political trust through delegation exchanges and contacts, the effective implementation of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and the early building of the 2024-2028 action programme.

Given the significant cooperative outcomes over the past nearly 70 years, the two countries should early lift their strategic partnership to a new level, they said.

The leaders witnessed the exchange of an MoU on cooperation in information and communications technology, and another on cooperation in fishing.

Within the visit, the two Presidents watched a martial arts and musical programme performed by athletes, soldiers, and artists of the Vietnam People’s Army in Hanoi.