Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong (second, left) has a meeting with Deputy Secretary General of the House of Representatives of Sumariydono (third, right). (Photo: the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia)   

NDO/VNA - Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong recently paid courtesy visits to, and had working sessions with the country's chief of the presidential staff office Moeldoko, Deputy Secretary General of the House of Representatives of Sumariydono, and Chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Sukarnoputri.

During the meetings, the Vietnamese diplomat spoke highly of Indonesia's efforts in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing his belief that Jakarta will successfully assume its presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) and the Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2023.

He highlighted the fruitful developments of bilateral relations in recent times, which has been further strengthened with regular visits and meetings between senior leaders of the two countries, and close coordination at international and regional forums.

Ambassador Thong said despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two-way trade exceeded 10 billion USD in 2021, adding this will be a premise for the two countries to further promote their economic and trade cooperation in the coming time.

He announced that Vietnam has resumed direct commercial flights to Bali and Jakarta, thereby creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese tourists to visit Indonesia.

For their part, Indonesian officials said they hope the newly-appointed Vietnamese diplomat will be a bridge to help deepen the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Indonesia, contributing to promoting the development of each country, as well as for peace, stability and prosperity of ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific.