"Indonesia is to ready establish cooperation in various fields with India," the minister noted during his visit to India on Tuesday.
"We welcome the invitation for cooperation expressed by PM Modi in education, disaster handling, radicalism, and extremism prevention," he affirmed.
During the meeting, Modi also praised Indonesia's successful leadership in the G20.
Modi also specifically expressed his admiration over the mangrove afforestation program that he visited while he was in Bali during the G20 since it inspired him to emulate the same in India.
On the same day, Mahfud also met with Indonesian citizen representatives in New Delhi, India.
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During the meeting facilitated by Indonesian Ambassador to India Krisnamurthi at the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi, he noted that one of the methods to protect Indonesia's reputation is to safeguard our own reputation.
In front of Indonesian citizens in India, he also outlined the democracy dynamics in Indonesia.
"While it is not yet perfect, Indonesia's democracy is heading toward a better direction," he remarked.
"Here and there, there are certain situations within the political process that left people disappointed. However, that disappointment cannot make us abandon Indonesia," he stated.
During his work visit to India, the minister also met with Indian national security adviser as well as the foreign affairs minister. He also became a key speaker in an inter-religious seminar in New Delhi.
Earlier, Indonesia and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation on countering terrorism on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on November 16, 2022.
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Translator: Syaiful Hakim, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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