"I am happy to visit Jakarta, not long after I got an invitation directly from Minister Marty who conveyed it when we met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York," Minister Gemba said in a press conference following the meeting with his Indonesian counterpart.
During the meeting, the two minister held the Third Ministeral-Level Strategic Dialog. The first dialog had been organized on February 18, and the second one on July 21, 2011.
"I have talked to Marty three times since I have become foreign minister, including one via teleconference. I am satisfied with the process of the dialog, which is the only form of dialog strategic in the Asian region," Gemba said.
The ministerial-level Strategic Dialog is one of the three routine meetings agreed by both nations during the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Japan last June.
Japan and Indonesia have agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in various sectors in order to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries.
"We discussed political, security, democratization, economic, development cooperation, and interaction between the two peoples," he said.
"My visit in Southeast Asia will strengthen the relations between Japan and friendly countries in ASEAN, especially Indonesia," Gemba said.
Prior to his visit in Jakarta, the Japanese foreign minister had visited Singapore and Malaysia. After holding a meeting with Minister Marty, Gemba was scheduled to meet Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto.(*)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
