RI and China to sign extradition agreement

Lilian Budianto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 05/20/2009 1:36 PM  |  World

Indonesia and China will sign this year an extradition agreement as part of a plan of action for the 2005 strategic partnership between both countries, said the Indonesian ambassador to China on Tuesday.

Sudrajat said the extradition agreement was already finalized last year but had yet to be signed up to now as both countries were looking for the right moment when it could be conducted in a ministerial-level meeting.

"We expect it to be signed in the capital city (of one of the two countries) some time this year by the foreign ministers. The scheduling is still underway," said Sudrajat during a seminar of Indonesia and China relations organized at the Foreign Ministry.

"Once it enters into force, Indonesian criminals caught in China will be extradited to Indonesia and the other way round. The extradition agreement falls into the category of our legal cooperations."

Besides the extradition agreement, the plan of action will include political, security and economic cooperation at the top of the list, according to Sudrajat.

The 2005 partnership marks another phase of Indonesia China bilateral ties, which resumed in 1990.

In 1967, Indonesia's diplomatic relations with China were suspended in the aftermath of a failed coup d'etat in 1965 to oust the then president Sukarno.

Bilateral trade between Indonesia and China stood at US$31.52 billion in 2008, an increase from $25 billion in 2007, according to Sudrajat. The trade figure already surpasses targets of $30 billion aimed to be reached in 2010.

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