Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on December 30 have sent their greetings to President of Indonesia Joko Widodo and Speaker of the People’s Representative Council Puan Maharani.

Their messages spoke highly of important achievements in bilateral ties over the past 65 years, stressing that bilateral traditional friendship founded by President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno and fostered by generations of leaders and peoples of the two countries has been growing effectively and substantially in various areas, becoming an invaluable common asset of the two nations.

On such a foundation, the Vietnam – Indonesia strategic partnership will keep growing strongly in the near future on the basis of sharing common vision and strategic interest, thus bringing practical benefits to the two nations, making positive contributions to peace, stability and sustainable development in the region and the world, they said.

On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also cabled greetings to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

Throughout 2020, the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta has held a number of activities to mark the 65th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, including a logo contest, an interactive dialogue on Indonesia’s national radio station RRI, and a film screening on national TV channel TVRI, along with an online photo exhibition in Yogyakarta and Bali, the re-publishing of a book on the historic visit by President Ho Chi Minh to Indonesia in 1959, and a videoconference on tourism and investment opportunities in Vietnam and Indonesia amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) welcomes Indonesian President Joko Widodo in September 2018. Photo: VNA

The Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia also inaugurated a website on activities marking the occasion at https://vnembassy-jakarta.mofa.gov.vn/vi-vn/65nam/Trang/default.aspx.

The website featured basic information about bilateral relationship, speeches by leaders, a short film on bilateral diplomatic ties, a photo exhibition on bilateral relationship in Yogyakarta and Bali, a seminar on trade, investment and tourism, and a press briefing.

Similar contents were also uploaded on the English-language website of the Indonesia - Vietnam Friendship Association at https://ivfa.or.id/.

The bilateral relationship has developed in all fields ranging from politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, tourism to culture and education, with the most outstanding achievements seen in the political and diplomatic aspects. Two-way trade rose 60 percent over the past five years, from 5.6 billion USD in 2014 to 9.1 billion USD in 2019. Despite the impact of COVID-19, bilateral tourism and cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges all increased. In 2019, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air launched direct flights linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Bali. The number of Indonesian tourists to Vietnam increased 21.3 percent this year to 108,000, while more than 80,000 Vietnamese visited Indonesia. In order to deal with COVID-19, Vietnam and Indonesia supported each other in their response. The Government, National Assembly, and businesses of Vietnam presented assistance to Indonesia./. Indonesian Ambassador honoured with VUFO's peace and friendship insignia Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam, Ibnu Hadi received the “For peace and friendship among nations” insignia awarded by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organization (VUFO). The ... Friendship night of Vietnam and Indonesia marks 65 years of ties A Vietnam-Indonesia Friendship Night was held on November 16 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (1955 – 2020). Vietnam-Indonesia cultural contest held in Central Highland City Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi and Second Secretary in charge of Cultural and Social Affairs Arum Primasty recently attended a ...