The cooperation covers plans for Congo’s purchase of Indonesian-made defense equipment and the acceptance of cadets from Congo at the Indonesian military academy.
The commitment to establish the cooperation was marked by the signing of a letter of intent (LoI) by Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, at Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Hall at the Ministry of Defense’s office in Jakarta on Thursday.
"This is a historical moment and we look forward to future cooperation," Minister Subianto remarked at a press conference after meeting with Minister Gombo.
He added that Indonesia welcomed the cooperation with Congo, especially regarding its plans to purchase Indonesia-made defense equipment, considering that the Congolese Defense Minister had visited state-owned defense products manufacturer PT Pindad and state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday.
"Minister Gombo said that he was very interested in our products. This is the start of a good collaboration. We are also interested in continuing this collaboration," he said.
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On the same occasion, Minister Gombo thanked the Indonesian government for its warm welcome.
He said that his country wants to send cadets and special forces to study and train in Indonesia.
"We are very interested in this new collaboration," he stressed.
He then highlighted the importance of sending his troops to study Indonesia's achievements, especially in the defense and military industries.
Minister Gombo arrived at the Ministry of Defense’s office at 3 p.m. local time and he was immediately greeted by Minister Subianto in the office’s courtyard. The two ministers then attended the welcoming ceremony, which was followed by an inspection of the troops. Thereafter, they held their meeting at Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Hall.
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Translator: Genta Tenri M, Resinta S
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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