Moscow (ANTARA News) - Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN Summit to be held in Singapore in November 2018.

Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko announced Putin`s plan to meet the Indonesian president following his meeting with the delegation of the Indonesian Regional Representative Council (DPD).

The meeting discussed collaboration and potential cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the economic and trade fields.

According to Matviyenko, Putin planned to meet Jokowi on the occasion of the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November 2018.

"I hope that the meeting between the presidents of the two countries would encourage increased cooperation between the two nations," he noted.

President Jokowi had paid a state visit to Russia in 2016.

During the visit, Jokowi held talks with Putin to discuss various areas of cooperation between the two nations, Matviyenko stated.

"President Putin and President Jokowi have also agreed to increase trade between the two countries to US$5 billion in 2020. Currently, several Russian companies are building infrastructure projects in Indonesia," he noted.

He said Putin had also planned to visit Indonesia after the 2019 general elections.

Indonesia is Russia`s most important strategic partner in Southeast Asia, he remarked.

"The two countries share a long-standing friendship. We hope relations between the two countries would grow closer and make the partnership more strategic," he stated.

DPD Chairman Oesman Sapta, who led the Indonesian delegation to the meeting, expressed gratitude to the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for their warm reception.

He expressed hope that relations between the DPD and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation would become closer and encourage increased cooperation in the economic and trade fields.





Reporting by Riza Harahap
Editing by Suharto

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Yosep Hariyadi
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