Indonesia's well-known scholar Prof. Aleksius Jemadu talks with the Vietnam News Agency's resident reporters in Jakarta ahead of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's state visit to Indonesia. (Photo: VNA) Talking with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident reporters in Jakarta ahead of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s state visit to Indonesia from December 21-23, Prof. Aleksius said that it is “a very important visit”, considering the fact that Vietnam and Indonesia need to work together in order to ensure regional stability in Southeast Asia, when countries try to recover from the current crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The relationship between the two countries is growing in terms of our trade and also investment,” he said, adding that “Indonesia is the largest market in ASEAN. And I believe that Vietnam is going to benefit also from the growth in Indonesia.”
He said that Indonesia, and Vietnam had more or less the same history of colonial rule in the past during national construction and defence and that he really appreciated the Vietnamese people who have a strong sense of nationalism. It's very important in this competitive world, to have people with a strong sense of nationalism, to stick to the principles in the relations with other countries, the scholar stressed.
“I think Vietnam has inspired Southeast Asia, how to work hard, how to use your own principles in dealing with great powers. And the dynamic of Vietnam economy is also very impressive. And I think it is a source of inspiration for the rest of region,” he said.
The professor said that Indonesia and Vietnam are two important members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). So the two countries are middle powers. They play a very important role in maintaining ASEAN's centrality and keeping the stability of the region.
Prof. Aleksius said that the meeting in Jakarta between President Joko Widodo and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc will be about Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN 2023 and ways to promote activities for the benefits of all Southeast Asian countries, particularly Vietnam and Indonesia.
The two countries can boost cooperation to step up the transformation of digital economy, digitalised economy for small and medium enterprises, green and renewable energy development, and climate change adaptation.
According to the scholar, in the declaration produced by G20 in Bali, there are a lot of things that developed countries will share with developing nations, in the digitalised economy, in the health sector, and also in green transition to green energy. Indonesia may share those new development within G20 with Vietnam.
“In these issues, no single country can work alone, they need to work together in order to solve their problems,” he said.
The two countries also need to increase people-to-people interactions through tourism activities and the exchange of students and lecturers, the scholar suggested.
Prof. Aleksius affirmed that as two close neighbours and strategic partners, Indonesia and Vietnam have many areas where they can cooperate. He also highly appreciated that Vietnam wants to build a good relationship with Indonesia, because this relationship can promote trust and bring benefits to both sides./.
VNA
