Both ministers met on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly in New York, the United States on September 20, a press release from the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry received by ANTARA here on Thursday stated.
"The principle of mutual respect for territorial integrity and the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of each country must always be upheld in maintaining bilateral relations," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said in response to Tozakas statement.
Both foreign ministers agreed on the importance of continuing to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, not only bilaterally, but also at regional and multilateral forums.
This is expected to contribute to development in both countries and in the Pacific region as a whole.
"Indonesia is a great country that gives attention to countries in the Pacific region in order to encourage better development," Retno said.
Earlier, at various bilateral meetings, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands have agreed to promote cooperation in economic, social, cultural, and technical fields.
Some of the potential cooperation in trade and investment are the developments of the palm oil industry, fisheries, food products and aluminum.
In addition, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands have also been discussing efforts to establish a Memorandum of Understanding in the fields of development cooperation, visa exemption for diplomatic and official passports, education and culture, as well as transportation.
From October 1999 until the end of 2015, Solomon Islands had sent 95 participants to participate in capacity building programs in agriculture, animal husbandry, renewable energy, navigation, fisheries, diplomacy, journalistic and small and medium enterprises.
Meanwhile, Minister Retno invited Minister Tozaka to attend the Bali Democracy Forum in Bali in early December. Indonesia is the Solomon Islands 16th biggest export partner and sixth largest import partner.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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