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Vietnam, Indonesia upgrade relations to highest level

The announcement came after a meeting between their leaders in Jakarta.

By Mike Firn for RFA
2025.03.10

BANGKOK -- Vietnam and Indonesia have agreed to upgrade ties to the top level Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Vietnamese state media reported on Tuesday.

The announcement followed a Monday meeting between Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary To Lam and Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto.

The two sides agreed on a Strategic Partnership in 2013 and wanted to build on its achievements, the two leaders said.

Indonesia is Vietnam's third-largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Vietnam is Indonesia's fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN, according to the Vietnam News Agency, or VNA.

Two-way trade rose to $16.7 billion last year from US$9 billion in 2019 and the two countries aim to increase it to $18 billion within three years.

At Monday's meeting, Lam and Prabowo agreed to remove tariff barriers, increase agricultural and fisheries exports and encourage business leaders to invest in each other's country with a focus on the digital and green economies and the transition to clean energy.

Indonesia had 123 projects in Vietnam with a total investment of $682 million last year, according to VNA.

Vietnamese companies are increasing investment in Indonesia, including electric car maker VinFast, which has built a $200 million factory in the town of Subang in West Java.

Vietnam's so-called bamboo diplomacy, characterized by flexibility and independence, has led it to court both China and the U.S. for business but a tariff-driven trade war between the world's two biggest economies means Hanoi is looking for other trading partners in Asia and Europe.

Indonesia is the ninth country to be elevated to the highest level of relations with Vietnam and the first in Southeast Asia. The others are China, Russia, India, South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Australia and France.

Lam was the first party chief to visit Indonesia in eight years and wrapped up his three-day trip on Tuesday.

Edited by RFA Staff.

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