Jakarta (ANTARA) - Bilateral relations with 10 friendly countries whose envoys recently handed over letters of credence for extraordinary and plenipotentiary (LBPP) ambassador to President Joko Widodo would prioritize economic cooperation, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi stated.

The handover of letters of credence took place at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Friday.

"The focus of our bilateral relations with these 10 countries will focus on economic cooperation," the minister noted in a statement received from the Presidential Secretariat on Friday.

The 10 friendly countries are Denmark, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Rwanda, Pakistan, Chile, Laos, Canada, Jordan, and Angola.

The minister explained that Indonesia's trade trend with 10 friendly countries had increased from year to year. Moreover, from the 10 friendly countries, Indonesia's trade experienced a surplus.

She noted that the largest trade volume was carried out with Pakistan, while the highest investment entering Indonesia was from Jordan.

"The largest volume of trade carried out by these 10 countries was with Pakistan, which last year reached more than US$4.5 billion. Meanwhile, in terms of investment in Indonesia, Jordan held the highest position last year, with almost US$500 million," Marsudi remarked.

In addition, the minister stated that Indonesia is in the midst of negotiating an investment agreement with Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Indonesia's investment cooperation with Cambodia, Jordan, and Angola also experienced a positive trend.

Apart from economic cooperation, Marsudi outlined cooperation between Indonesia and those countries on several other issues, such as the protection of Indonesian citizens (WNI), industrial cooperation, and the energy transition.

Regarding eradicating online fraud with Laos and Cambodia, the minister affirmed that this effort is being pursued through cooperation between the two countries.

"We are also continuing to collaborate in the strategic industrial sector, especially with Pakistan and Cambodia, while with Denmark, we are currently developing cooperation for the energy transition," she revealed.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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