"The volume of trade between the two countries last year was valued at US$3.3 billion. We agreed to increase it to US$5 billion before 2015," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at a joint press conference with visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the Merdeka Palace.
To meet the target, he said, the two countries agreed to push the two countries` trade and economic cooperation into a new stage.
The two countries were also committed to opening investment opportunities.
"We will open opportunities for Indonesian investors to invest in Vietnam and Vietnamese investors to invest in Indonesia," President Yudhoyono said.
President Yudhoyono said Indonesia sees Vietnam as an entry gate for cooperation in Southeast Asian sub-regions such as Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung who came to Indonesia upon the invitation of President Yudhoyono said that trade between the two countries would lead to a balanced cooperation.
The newly re-elected prime minister said he hoped the Indonesian government would help Vietnamese businessmen to invest in the country.
He said Vietnam meanwhile would prepare the best conditions for Indonesian businessmen who wish to invest in his country.
After the press conference President Yudhoyono and First Lady Any Yudhoyono entertained their guests at a lunch at the State Palace.
(T.D003*F008/H-YH/H-NG/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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