Manmohan Singh in Indonesia, pitches for stronger ties

JAKARTA: India is looking for stronger ties with Indonesia in economic and other areas of cooperation, with some key agreements likely to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's current visit to the south east Asian nation.


Singh, who arrived here late last night from Brunei after attending ASEAN and East Asia Summits from October 9-10, would be joined here by senior cabinet colleagues External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.

The delegation also includes a number of top officials including National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon.

During the trip, some important agreements are likely to be signed and the Indian delegation will leave for home tomorrow.

Besides being a key ASEAN member, Indonesia is an important bilateral partner of India. The areas of cooperation between the two countries range from economy, culture, energy, security, space and development.

Ahead of his Brunei and Indonesia visit, Singh had said that India's sees its "ties with Indonesia as an essential part of India's integration with the broader region".

"I intend to utilise this visit also to re-emphasise our commitment to building a stronger partnership with ASEAN. We will also have the opportunity to exchange views on regional and global issues of common interest," he said, while committing to create an institutional framework to further enhance the content of our cooperation in the years ahead.

The visit is expected to further deepen India's strategic partnership with Indonesia and Singh's scheduled meeting with Indonesian Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may be the last one during the latter's tenure as the President of South East Asian country.

Presidential elections are expected to be held in Indonesia in April 2014 after Yudhoyono completes his second term.

India and Indonesia inked a strategic partnership agreement in 2005, about a year after both Singh and Yudhoyono assumed leadership in their respective countries.