Indian envoy meets Matori

JAKARTA: Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Shyamsaran made a courtesy call to Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil on Monday to introduce himself as a new envoy.

The visit was made in a bid to help improve bilateral ties between India and Indonesia, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Shyamsaran said that the ties between the two countries would be focused on especially in defense, due to Indonesia's strategic position in the Southeast Asian region.

Matori warmly hailed Shyamsaran's visit and in response to his invitation to visit India, the minister said he would think about it.

Matori said that Indonesia actually intended to further enhanced the two-way relations with India, which had been forged since 1947.

"The bilateral ties, however, are very much hindered by the lack of funds due to the prolonged economic crisis," the statement said.

The two-way trade has grown significantly since early 1990s. The volume of the trade was estimated to reach US$1.6 billion in 2000, up from $1.4 billion in 1996, according the Indian embassy. -- JP