Indonesia, Brunei agree to strengthen ties

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah have agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in various fields, the Foreign Ministry has announced.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | World | Mon, February 09 2015, 1:57 PM

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah have agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in various fields, the Foreign Ministry has announced.

Jokowi visited Brunei on Saturday and Sunday, his first visit to the country, Antara news agency reported Monday.

One of the agreements reached by Jokowi and Sultan Bolkiah was to strengthen cooperation in the field of manpower in line with the Indonesian government’s plan to provide protection for all Indonesian workers abroad.

There are many Indonesian workers in Brunei and neighboring Malaysia, as well as in a number of other countries in the region.

Jokowi asked for support from Brunei for Jakarta’s proposal to create an ASEAN legal instrument for migrant workers’ protection.

The two countries also expressed a commitment to supporting cooperation in the preservation of the environment under the framework of the Heart of Borneo Initiative.

The two leaders agreed to encourage balanced trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Indonesia also invited investors from Brunei to take part in Indonesia’s ambitious infrastructure development plans, which include the construction of ports, toll roads and railways.

In addition, the two countries agreed to promoted defense cooperation.

Jokowi invited Sultan Bolkiah to take part in the Asia-Africa summit meeting and the commemoration ceremony of the Conference of Asia-Africa to be held in Bandung, West Java, in April 22 to April 24 2015. (hhr)(++++)

SOURCE www.thejakartapost.com