Ambassador forum: The Indonesian ambassador to Vietnam in his discussion with the Academy's staff and students

On behalf of the Diplomatic Academy, Deputy Director Le Hai Binh hosted the seminar. In addition, participants included: Mr. Ferry Murdiansyah, Second Secretary and Mr. Pham Quoc Manh, staff of the Indonesian Embassy in Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen Phu Tan Huong, Deputy Dean of the International politics and Diplomatic studies Faculty, staff of the Institute of East Sea, and 55 students studying Bachelor degree in International Relations.

Opening the seminar, the Ambassador affirmed that the Indonesia-Vietnam strategic partnership relation had made significant progress in the past three years.

In the economic field, bilateral trade in 2018 reached $8.4 billion. In particular, the total turnover of Indonesia exported to Vietnam reached 4.9 billion USD (increased 35.1%) and imports from Vietnam was $3.5 billion (increased 23.4%). The trade surplus for Indonesia was $1.38 billion. It is expected that by the end of 2019, bilateral trade would reach about $9.5-$9.7 billion. In the first three months of 2019, this figure was $2.12 billion, increasing 9.68% in comparison with the same period last year. Many Indonesian companies had also been operating effectively in Vietnam, such as: Goviet, Traveloka, ...

In the field of politics - diplomacy, the two countries had regularly exchanged high-level delegations. For Indonesia, Vietnam is constantly increasing its position and power, playing an increasingly important role in regional and international multilateral forums, contributing to the process of building a peaceful and stable region (for example, Vietnam played the host role of the 2nd US-Korea Summit). Recently, the Indonesian Embassy established the Umah Indo (Indonesian house) within the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi to introduce to Vietnamese friends about culture, cuisine, country and children. 

The Ambassador believed that the Indonesia-Vietnam bilateral relationship would develop even more quickly when there was a direct airway connection between the two countries. Vietjet airline had been trying to open direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Bali from May 29th, 2019. Vietnam Airlines also considered opening routes Ho Chi Minh City - Jakarta, and then Hanoi - Jakarta.

Within the framework of ASEAN, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP) between ASEAN and the six partners that signed an FTA with ASEAN was expected to be reached in November 2019. This proved the effectiveness of the ASEAN Community building process, especially in terms of economic cooperation. According to Ambassador Ibnu Hadi, in 2020, when playing the role of the rotating chair of ASEAN, Vietnam would have many opportunities and also face many challenges.

After completing his presentation, the Ambassador answered many questions from students and staff about the prospect of strengthening the Indonesia-Vietnam bilateral relationship, increasing the effectiveness of cooperation between the two countries within ASEAN, as well as in other multilateral forums.

The Ambassador's forum lasted for more than 1.5 hours and ended in a friendly atmosphere, bringing many new inspiration and approaches to the students and staff of the Academy.