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.
Indonesia, India to step up connectivity cooperation
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Close ties: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) shakes hands with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta during Modi’s state visit to Indonesia on May 30, 2018. (Courtesy of Indian Embassy)
I
ndonesia and India have agreed to improve connectivity between Aceh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, underlining their commitment to strengthen cooperation under the Indo-Pacific concept.
India’s minister for external affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, was in Jakarta on Thursday to meet his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, on the occasion of which they discussed bilateral and regional issues, including connectivity between India’s Andaman and Nicobar and Indonesia’s Sabang Island in Aceh.
Sabang is located about 166 kilometers from the southeastern-most tip of India’s union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which is positioned near the Strait of Malacca, a shipping channel for global trade that also connects the eastern part of the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea.
“Indonesia is ready to take part in the development of infrastructure and connectivity for Andaman and Nicobar and Aceh,” Retno said.
Indonesia recently hosted a joint task force preliminary meeting for Aceh-Andaman and Nicobar connectivity, during which Indonesia and India agreed to strengthen trade, investment for connectivity development, as well as cooperation on sustainable development of marine resources, tourism, education and port development. Indonesia and India have agreed to follow up the preliminary meeting and plan to hold the first joint task force meeting in Aceh on Nov. 12.
The meeting, Jaishankar said, was based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jakarta in May last year, in a landmark event in Indonesia-India's bilateral ties, with the two leaders agreeing to upgrade relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
“India and Indonesia are close maritime neighbors and we really value Indonesia as a key partner under our Act East and Indo-Pacific policy,” Jaishankar said.
