Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The governments of Indonesia and Angola on Friday signed an agreement to intensify cooperation in the development of refineries and the trade of oil and gas.

The agreement was signed by Acting President Director of PT Pertamina Muhamad Husen, representing the Indonesian Government, and Executive Administrator of Sonangol EP Mateus Neto.

The signing of the agreement was witnessed by Vice President of Indonesia M. Jusuf Kalla and Vice President of Angola Manuel Domingos Vicente at the Vice Presidential Office in Jakarta.

Also present during the event were Coordinating Minister of Economy Sofyan Djalil, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi, and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said.

Jusuf Kalla noted that the cooperation was important as Angola was one of the biggest oil producers in Africa.

"The country was engulfed in war, but now, it (Angola) has become a rich country due to oil and gas production," he stated.

Kalla said Indonesia will continue to enhance cooperation in the field of oil and gas with some countries to meet its domestic demand of oil and gas as the national production failed to match the demand.

"We may not only import gas and oil from a single country, but from several countries, and we will continue to cooperate with them," he emphasized.

In the meantime, Marketing and Trading Director of PT Pertamina Hanung Budya remarked that the state-owned oil and natural gas company will evaluate the cooperation agreement as it was still in its nascent phase with regard to oil and gas cooperation between the two countries.

The cooperation may cover trade, construction of oil refineries, development of the upstream sector, and the assignment of on-field personnel, Budya added.

(Reporting by Ahmad Wijaya/Uu.A059/INE/KR-BSR/S012)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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