Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo's official visit toVietnam from September 11-12 has attracted public attention and been highlightedby Indonesian media.

The media quoted Indonesian officials as calling the visit crucial to theIndonesian-Vietnamese strategic partnership, creating a political momentum forall-round cooperation between the two countries, especially in terms of economics,trade, investment, maritime cooperation, fisheries, and the negotiations on the demarcation of the ExclusiveEconomic Zone (EEZ) between the two countries.

Antara News and Jakarta Post, in their articles, said in his meeting withVietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi, Widodo suggested the VietnameseGovernment remove trade barriers for Indonesia.

He was also reported to have expressed his wish that Indonesian investors willexpand their business in Vietnam, adding that the two countries signed Joint Communiqué on Voluntary InternationalCooperation to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and toPromote Sustainable Fisheries Governance.

Vietnameseand Indonesian leaders also agreed to intensify negotiations on an EEZ, themedia highlighted

Other newspapers of Indonesia have also ran articles reporting on agreementsand memoranda of understanding (MoUs) reached between Vietnam and Indonesia duringWidodo’s visit, including those on tourism cooperation, fisheries, and health care.

The two sides signed the Plan of Action for theImplementation of Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the periodof 2019-2023, and a number of other important agreements, including thoseon cooperation in promoting creative economic development and bilateral tradecooperation, which aim to lift two-way trade between Vietnam and Indonesia to 10billion USD in 2020.

Anagreement on removing trade barriers was also inked, making it easy for bothsides’ goods to make inroads into each other market, the articles said.

The Indonesian media quoted some statements by President Widodo and ForeignMinister Retno Marsudi.

PresidentWidodo appreciated the fruitful cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia, and VietnamesePrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s decision to attend the ASEAN Leaders' Gathering (ALG) in Bali, Indonesia in October.

TheIndonesian leader affirmed the ALG was important in the current fluctuations ofthe world economy, noting that this offers a chance for ASEAN to show itsdetermination to foster self-reliance economic development and its commitment topromote development cooperation and poverty reduction.

It will be also an opportunities for ASEAN member nations to declare to theworld their achievements in recent times.

Talking to the press on the visit, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudiemphasised   that Indonesia is promoting equilibrium traderelations with Vietnam.

She highly valued the signing of the MoU on fishery cooperation, including illegalfishing preventions; as well as the determination of both sides’ leaders to acceleratenegotiations on the demarcation of the EEZ.-VNA