India and Indonesia emphasized the need for greater maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific during the 7th round of India-Indonesia Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) that was held in Jakarta on Thursday.
The meeting was co-chaired by Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs of India, and Abdul Kadir Jailani, Director General for Asia Pacific and Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia.
Both sides reviewed their overall bilateral relationship, covering political exchanges, defense and security cooperation, trade and economic matters, and consular issues, an official statement said.
The two delegations emphasized the need for greater maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and their continued commitment to strengthening India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The two countries also agreed to improve connectivity between Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Aceh Province, as well as to enhance people-to-people exchange, and cultural cooperation.
Views were also exchanged on recent regional and global developments, and cooperation within G20, the ASEAN framework, the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), and ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar also invited Indonesia to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
The last Foreign Office Consultations were held in June 2021 in a virtual format.
( With inputs from ANI )
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