TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
S. Korean leader begins her 'sales diplomacy' in Indonesia
Park Geun-hye: (Reuters/Ahim Rani)South Korean President Park Geun-hye began her three-day visit to Indonesia on Thursday as part of her âsales diplomacyâ, aimed at boosting economic ties between South Korea and Indonesia
Change Size
Park Geun-hye: (Reuters/Ahim Rani) (Reuters/Ahim Rani)
Park Geun-hye: (Reuters/Ahim Rani)
South Korean President Park Geun-hye began her three-day visit to Indonesia on Thursday as part of her 'sales diplomacy', aimed at boosting economic ties between South Korea and Indonesia.
Park is slated to hold a bilateral meeting with her Indonesian counterpart President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday, presidential spokesman for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah said in a press statement on Thursday.
Teuku said the visit showed Korea's 'strong commitment to building strong cooperation with Indonesia' and at the same time reiterated Indonesia's similar commitment.
During the state visit by Yudhoyono to Korea last year, the two countries agreed to boost the bilateral trade volume to US$50 billion by 2014 and $100 billion by 2020.
According to official data, the trade volume between Indonesia and South Korea reached $30.8 billion in 2011, triple the $10 billion in 2007, making Korea Indonesia's seventh-largest trading partner, a major milestone since the strategic partnership was agreed.
South Korean investment in Indonesia reached $1.2 billion in 2011, making Korea the fifth-largest foreign state investor in Indonesia. In 2012, it reached $1.9 billion.
During last year's visit to Seoul, Yudhoyono reiterated the importance of boosting defense ties, as well as strengthening cooperation in other fields such as renewable energy projects and infrastructure and tourism, with Seoul.
'Other issues in the region that have become a common concern will also be discussed during the meeting,' Teuku said.
Park is also scheduled to attend the South Korea'Indonesia Investment Forum as well as a cultural festival during her visit.
Yonhap News Agency reported that on Friday, Park would attend a ceremony marking the completion of South Korea's new embassy building in Jakarta before attending a roundtable meeting with South Korean and Indonesian business leaders. She also planned to visit a leading South Korean company operating in Indonesia, the agency said.
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) will also hold a business lunch with Park and her business delegation, including Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Park Yong-man on Friday.
Indonesia and South Korea are hoping to conclude negotiations on the establishment of an economic partnership agreement in October, to further strengthen their economic relations.
Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan has said that both countries might agree to form a relatively small package for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), to speed up negotiations.
The two countries began negotiations on the partnership in July last year.
Following a bilateral meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Sang-jick, on the sidelines of the APEC Summit last week, Gita said he hoped the agreement would be signed on schedule.
