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Jokowi invited to ASEAN-S. Korea Summit
Key partner: President-elect Joko âJokowiâ Widodo accompanies South Korean Foreign Minister Yung Byun-se (left) at City Hall after their meeting on Thursday
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span class="inline inline-center">Key partner: President-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo accompanies South Korean Foreign Minister Yung Byun-se (left) at City Hall after their meeting on Thursday. Warta Kota/Henry Lopulalan
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with president-elect and outgoing Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo at City Hall on Thursday to encourage the latter to attend the ASEAN-South Korea commemorative summit, slated to be held in December in Busan, South Korea.
'I aimed to relay [South Korean] President [Park Geun-hye's] warm welcome to Jokowi as president-elect. We promise to boost our economic relations and those in other sectors. I also encourage him to attend the [ASEAN] summit in Korea,' Yun told reporters after the meeting.
Yun also emphasized the importance of Indonesia to South Korea.
'Indonesia, along with Japan and China, is a member of the G20. In terms of trade, Indonesia is very important. Now we also have cooperation in the defense sector,' he said.
South Korea ' a long-key partner to Indonesia ' is committed to creating stronger ties, among others, through investment realization, a sea wall project and e-government.
Yun was among foreign high officials to grasp an opportunity to meet Jokowi before his inauguration, in which South Korean Prime Minister Jung Hong-won will be among foreign dignitaries to attend.
In August, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with Jokowi to discuss a number of issues, including the Mining Law.
South Korea is slated to host a special summit with ASEAN leaders on Dec. 11-12 in Busan. The two sides initiated relations in November 1989 and the partnership was elevated to the summit level in 1997.
The summit ' the second of its kind ' is expected to offer an opportunity for both sides to further boost strategic relations. The maiden summit between South Korea-ASEAN was held in Jeju 2009.
Trade between ASEAN and South Korea reached US$134.3 billion in 2013, when South Korea invested $3.8 billion in Southeast Asian nations. South Korea, for its part, received construction orders worth $14.3 billion from ASEAN members.
Jokowi welcomed the invitation, hinting at potential cooperation in different sectors.
'Earlier, we talked about railways, investment and also about ports. We also intend to work with South Korea on the technical aspects of the giant sea wall project.'
