Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi received the first official visit of Congolese Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu Lundula at Gedung Pancasila, Jakarta, on Thursday.

"This is the first visit of high-ranking official of Democratic Republic of the Congo to Indonesia since the opening of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1963," Marsudi noted in a joint statement.

The visit is special, taking in account that Africa is among the priorities of Indonesia`s foreign policy.

In April this year, Indonesia had hosted the Indonesia-Africa Forum with positive results.

The forum will be followed up by the Indonesia-Africa Infrastructure Dialogue in 2019, which is expected to foster concrete economic cooperation between Indonesia and African countries, including DR Congo.

"We are prioritizing cooperation with Congo in the fields of infrastructure, mining, aquaculture, agriculture, and plantation," Marsudi explained.

During his stay in Indonesia, Minister Lundula will also hold meetings with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and several state-owned enterprises.

"DR Congo has huge potential to be Indonesia`s land of investment," Lundula noted.

In addition to the aforementioned fields of cooperation, DR Congo is interested in utilizing the opportunity to work along with Indonesia in textile and palm oil industries.

DR Congo has lent support to Indonesia to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, a spirit of solidarity that is highly lauded by Indonesia.

Lundula, who also serves as vice prime minister of DR Congo, thanked Indonesia for the dispatch of 850 troops to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo --- the second-largest Indonesian peacekeeping operations after Lebanon, according to Marsudi.

"I hope this visit would mark a good start (for our future cooperation). We are satisfied, as today we have signed a joint commission that we hope would expand bilateral cooperation for a common good," Lundula remarked.



Editing by Yoseph Hariyadi

Reporter: Yashinta Difa Pramudyani
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
Copyright © ANTARA 2018