Indonesian President Joko Widodo (R) and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. (Source: jakartapost)
Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia andAustralia have vowed to promote free trade and closer maritime cooperation.
The commitment was made during the officialvisit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Australia, the first since he tookoffice.
At the talk between President Widodo and hostPrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the two leaders agreed to complete thebilateral free trade deal this year. Prime Minister Turnbull said afterwards that Indonesiapledged to lower tariff on sugar imported from Australia and loosen limits forimports of animal husbandry products from this country, adding that inexchange, Australia will lift all import taxes for pesticides and herbicidesfrom Indonesia. The two leaders also witnessed the signing ofa memorandum of understanding on maritime cooperation, including maritimesecurity enhancement, border protection and crime fight. Besides, the Australian Prime Ministerannounced that the leaders also agreed to restore all defence cooperationactivities between Australia and Indonesia. The Consulate General of Australiawill be opened in Surabaya city of Indonesia, while many Indonesian languagefacilities will operate in Australia’s cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin. In January, tension sparked between twocountries due to the discovery of offensive materials toward Indonesia’s armyin a military base in Perth, Western Australia. Initially, Indonesia announcedto suspend all defence cooperation with Australia and then affirmed the suspensionwas only applied for activities in the joint language training programme.-VNA
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Indonesian President Joko Widodo (R) and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. (Source: jakartapost) 
