Indonesia and South Korea to Discuss Implementing Strengthened Strategic Partnership

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will act as co-chairs in implementing the strengthened bilateral relationship, which has been elevated to a Special Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The statement was made by Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea, Cecep Herawan, at the ‘Indonesian Next-Generation Journalist Network’ event organised by the Korea Foundation and the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia at the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday.

‘The plan is for it to be co-chaired by the foreign ministers of Korea and Indonesia. Later, each will have derivatives, a sort of task force or something similar, which will oversee all aspects of cooperation across all pillars,’ he said.

Ambassador Cecep explained that the chairmanship by each foreign minister is intended to simplify the cooperation process, particularly in the economic field.

‘So, going forward, it will be sufficient to communicate between the two foreign ministers, for example, and then the derivatives will enter the sectors,’ he clarified.

The partnership upgrade was announced during President Prabowo Subianto’s state visit to South Korea and his meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, strengthening diplomatic relations that have been established since 1973.

Both heads of state affirmed that the Special Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will place greater emphasis on concrete and future-oriented cooperation, covering several areas of mutual interest, both existing and new, for the benefit of the two countries and the wider region.

In this regard, both are determined to work closely together on the five pillars of cooperation achieved to advance their shared vision of realising a stronger, more beneficial, and innovative partnership, thereby improving the welfare and prosperity of the people in both countries.

The five pillars of cooperation include political and security cooperation; trade, investment, and industrial cooperation; advanced technology, energy transition, and green economy cooperation; socio-cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges; and regional and global cooperation.