Deals on economy, culture, defense inked during Marcos' state visit to Indonesia

BOGOR, Indonesia — Four agreements on economy, culture, and defense were signed Monday during President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s state visit here.

The agreements, which were presented to Marcos and Indonesian President Joko Widodo before the two delivered their joint statements at the Istana Bogor, were the following:

• Plan of Action between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines from 2022 to 2027, presented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo;
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on Cultural Cooperation, presented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo;
• Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, presented by the Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto and Senior Undersecretary of the Department of Defense Jose Faustino Jr.; and
• Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in the Development and Promotion of Creative Economy between the Government of Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, presented by Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno and DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual

In his statement, Marcos said he and Jokowi talked "at length" about the role the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should play "while we face the difficulties in this very volatile time in geopolitics not only in our region but also in the rest of the world."

Marcos also thanked Indonesia "for the assistances and their involvement in the infrastructure programs of my predecessor, President [Rodrigo] Duterte, and their continuing commitment not only to go on with these programs but to increase the volume and the closeness between our two countries."

According to Marcos, he and President Jokowi agreed to organize task forces which will discuss even at a technical level to work on strengthening their ties.

"The President and I, have agreed to organize task forces already to meet and discuss even at a technical level, no longer at the political or the diplomatic level, but at a technical level, so as to be able to take a full advantage of the opportunities that we feel that are available to us, and that we will need to exploit to succeed in the near future," Marcos said.

Marcos also said he and his Indonesian counterpart also agreed that ASEAN would play as the lead agent in the "changes that we would like to see in continuing to bring peace to our countries."

Trade

Trade was also among the important topics discussed during the meeting between Marcos and Jokowi.

The Indonesian leader called for a significant increase in trade and invited the Philippines to continue developing trade potentials as well as connectivity in border areas.

“Compared to last year, trade between Indonesia and [the] Philippines increased by almost 50%. Indonesia, in particular, encouraged increase of export of food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, coconut, and seaweed products,” Jokowi said in his statement.

Jokowi said shipping routes between Bitung and Davao should be revitalized as well as the reopening of Manado-Davao flight route.

Border cooperation

Jokowi also said he and Marcos agreed to review two border security agreements in order for them to remain relevant for communities in border areas and the revised Border Crossing Agreement and Border Patrol Agreement.

“In the field of defense and security, we encouraged strengthening cooperation and safety and security of waters in border areas. I highly appreciate the signing of the Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security,” he said.

“I’m glad that we have renewed the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement or TCA   between Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, which is very important to secure our waters from threats of hostage-taking and kidnapping.” —KBK, GMA News