Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government had received the visit of Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Susan Thornton, as a part of the effort to maintain the momentum in the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and the United States.

The statement was made through a press release from the ministry of Foreign Affairs, as received by ANTARA here, on Thursday.

Thornton`s visit to Indonesia was received by Director General of America and Europe from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muhammad Anshor, at the Indonesia-US High Level Officials meeting in the Ministry`s Garuda building on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Anshor affirmed Indonesia commitment to play its leadership role in the region, under the free-active foreign policy.

On the other side, Indonesia hoped for the US to also play its constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

The high-level official meeting was held in the framework of the Indonesia and US strategic partnership and was the first high-level meeting after the cooperation was agreed upon in 2015.

The meeting itself contained discussions around the strengthening of bilateral cooperation and the partnership between the two countries in materializing security and welfare in the region, under the strategic partnership framework.

As a follow-up measure after the meeting between President Joko Widodo and his US counterpart Donald Trump at the G-20 summit back in 2017, top officials of both countries had been discussing issues that had become the main attention and concern for Indonesia and the US.

The issues, thus, include boosting trade and investment, access of Indonesian fishery product to the US, maritime investment in Indonesia, maritime security, modernization of main tools of defense system (alutsista), terrorism counter measures, cooperation in development, and security of cyber space.

Moreover, the issues on Palestine and Rohingya in Myanmar are some of the agendas discussed during the meeting.

Apart from strengthening their bilateral relations, Indonesia and the US are ready to cooperate in creating a secure, prosperous, inclusive, mutually respectable, trustworthy, and beneficial Indo-Pacific region.

The results of the meeting have become the foundation and material for the ministerial-level meeting between the two countries within the Annual Ministerial Strategic Dialogue framework.

Throughout 2016 and 2017, there had been a number of high-level meetings, including the meeting between Indonesian and US president in the G-20 Summit, the visit of US Vice President Mike Pence to Jakarta in April 2017, and the series of bilateral meetings of the Indonesian foreign minister in Washington DC in May 2017.

Reported by Yuni Arisandy
(UU.KR-ARC/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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