"We agreed to hold a Joint Working Group on Trade between Indonesia and the Philippines this year," Jokowi said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his Filipino counterpart President Rodrigo Duterte will inaugurate the opening of a Ro-Ro shipping service on the Davao-General Santos-Bitung sea route on April 30, 2017.

In a joint press statement issued at the Malacanang Palace on Friday, both presidents agreed that connectivity between Indonesia and the Philippines was part of the development agenda of boosting connectivity in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In addition to cooperation in the area of transportation, Jokowi and Duterte also witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements in the field of agriculture as well as increasing cooperation in several sectors, such as politics and security, economy, maritime security, and people-to-people contacts.

Both countries had recorded a positive growth in trade, with an increase of 32 percent in 2016.

"We agreed to hold a Joint Working Group on Trade between Indonesia and the Philippines this year," Jokowi revealed.

In terms of investment, Jokowi will continue to encourage Indonesian companies to participate in the retail sector and infrastructure development, particularly for building power plants, toll roads, and railways in the Philippines.

In the field of maritime delimitation, both countries are also committed to completing the ratification of the Exclusive Economic Zone boundary agreement this year and encouraging the defining of the continental shelf limit soon.

The launch of the Indomalphi trilateral maritime patrol is part of the cooperation efforts made by both countries to improve maritime security.

In a bid to fight transnational crimes and terrorism, both heads of states agreed to organize a Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism this year and extend the memorandum of understanding on countering terrorism and strengthening the exchange of intelligence information.

With regard to strengthening people-to-people contacts, Jokowi and Duterte have the same mission of improving the protection for the two countries citizens as well as the other ASEAN migrant workers.

Meanwhile, President Duterte said he felt honored to host Jokowi at his presidential palace, which also marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and the Philippines.

He also expressed gratitude to the Indonesian government for assisting in the peace building process in Mindanao, southern Philippines.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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