"The first meeting of the commission will be held soon."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - China and Indonesia are planning to strengthen maritime cooperation by establishing a Maritime Cooperation Commission (MCC) co-chaired by their respective vice foreign ministers, Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Liu Jianchao said here on Tuesday.
"The first meeting of the commission will be held soon. Representatives from ten ministries of the two countries are expected to take part in the upcoming meeting. Among the ministries are the foreign affairs, fishery, technology, defense, marine and transportation," said the ambassador.
He explained the MCC was aimed to improve maritime cooperation between Indonesia and China. Among the sectors to be included in the cooperation were the maritime infrastructure, research on fishery and technology, maritime security, protection towards maritime resources and maritime environment.
Earlier Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said the MCC was expected to increase China-Indonesia relations in the maritime sector.
"Maritime issue can be the source of cooperation and be a way to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and China," he said.
(T.A051/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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