He made the statement at a meeting with his Italian counterpart Gen Giuseppe Valotto at the Italian Army Headquarters in Rome on Monday, Musurifun Lajawa, minister counselor for educational and socio-cultural affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in Rome, said in an emailed statement to an Antara correspondent in London on Tuesday.
At the meeting, Toisutta who is paying a working visit in Italy at the invitation of the Italian Army chief of staff said the Indonesian military (TNI) contingent which is now taking part in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is the fourth of its kind.
The participation of TNI troops in UNIFIL has given a lot of useful experience and advantage to them, he said.
He further extended condolence on the death of six Italian troops joining UNIFIL in an incident on May 2 this year.
Meanwhile, Valotto expressed gratitude and appreciation to the TNI for its participation in UNIFIL by sending troops in large numbers.
He expressed hope that Indonesia would take an active part in other peacekeeping missions in the future.
Toisutta told Valotto that the main objective of his Italian visit is to forge relations between the two countries, particularly military cooperation in view of Italy`s experience in ground operations in various regions.
(T.SYS/B/S012/B/O001)
(ANTARA)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
