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ooperating on economic and intelligence issues was the main focus of the commitment made by Indonesia and Turkey when both countries'€™ leaders met on Friday.

The commitment was made following a bilateral meeting between President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Merdeka Palace, Central Jakarta.

Jokowi said he and Erdogan '€” who arrived in Jakarta late Thursday for a three-day visit '€” had discussed a number of issues, including economics and terrorism, in the bilateral meeting, that he called '€œopen, friendly and very productive'€.

'€œWe have discussed several issues, such as global issues related to terrorism and the situation in the Middle East. But we focused on the economic sector,'€ Jokowi said during a joint press conference.

'€œWe have agreed to soon settle existing trade barriers. We have also agreed that it is now time for a joint commission, focusing on the economy, to meet sometime this year to explore existing potentials so that those that exist can be improved.'€

According to Jokowi, the two countries are also seeking to cooperate in the military equipment industry, small vessels manufacturing industry and power plant industry.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Turkey was Indonesia'€™s 7th biggest trade partner in the European region with two-way trade reaching US$2.47 billion in 2014. Natural rubber, polyester synthetic fiber, palm oil and textiles are among Indonesia'€™s main commodities exports to Turkey.

Turkey'€™s investment in Indonesia reached $64.1 million with 29 projects last year.

Jokowi thought the two countries shared many similarities and were internationally intertwined in platforms such as MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia), the G20 and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

'€œThe two countries also play their own strategic roles in their respective regions,'€ he added.

Erdogan, who brought along a delegation of more than 200 businesspeople, said his visit aimed to strengthen trade and economic ties with Indonesia '€œon the basis of mutual benefits for both countries'€.

'€œWe will hold a business forum [the Turkey-Indonesia Business Forum] tomorrow [Saturday]. I hope the forum will be the place where we can produce new projects,'€ he said.

In terms of intelligence cooperation, both countries discussed joint efforts in the fight against terrorism and the prevention of radicalism.

In his remarks, Erdogan warned that terrorist groups from the Middle East could influence other regions.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the two countries, however, did not specifically discuss the 16 Indonesian citizens, who had been reported missing in Turkey and allegedly joined the Islamic State (IS) movement.

'€œThe point is that we [the two countries] agreed to enhance intelligence cooperation,'€ she said.

In a public lecture at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) earlier on Friday, Erdogan called on Indonesia and Turkey to fight against terrorism together as they had the same vision of eliminating the threat of extremism.

One of the challenges is that some countries have shown their reluctance in sharing information about terrorism.

'€œTurkey is eager and sincere to establish this kind of relationship and we are happy to see that Indonesia shares the same values as we do. A strong political, social and economic relationship between Turkey and Indonesia will be beneficial for not only their people, but also for the whole world,'€ Erdogan said.

He added that in order to resolve the most urgent conflicts in the Middle East, such as those in Syria and Iraq, any solution would have to adjust to a certain country'€™s historical, political and cultural sensitivities as well as its social structure.

'€œTolerance must be the practiced solution in resolving conflicts in Islamic countries because Islam does not advocate terrorism [...].'€

Erdogan and his delegation then performed Friday prayers at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque where he was accompanied by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.