Indonesia, Vietnam sign boundary and visa deals
Indonesia, Vietnam sign boundary and visa deals
Agencies, Hanoi
Vietnam and Indonesia signed an agreement on Thursday that resolves a two-decade-old dispute over a sea boundary in an area rich in oil and gas.
Both countries also waived visa requirements for each other's nationals.
A coffee pact that limits exports from the two countries, which are the world's top two robusta bean producers, was also signed.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, on her second visit to the communist country, headed the signing ceremony for the sea agreement.
The maritime accord marks out the continental shelf boundary and provides a basis for additional oil and gas exploration in the Natuna Sea area.
Megawati, speaking in Hanoi's ornate French colonial era Presidential Palace, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the pact was concluded "after a long period of negotiation" of more than 20 years.
The Natuna area, in the South China Sea between the island of Borneo and the Malaysian peninsula, is rich in oil and gas, with a potential 2.8 billion barrels. Indonesia already has a major gas installation in the area that supplies Singapore.
Neither side provided any details on the pact.
Also, it is not clear whether the deal will be enough for Indonesia to start exploring for oil and gas in the area, which also borders with Malaysia and Thailand.
An official at the foreign ministry told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that Indonesia was working on a similar border deal with Thailand.
Besides the maritime deal, Indonesia and Vietnam also agreed to waive visa requirements for each others nationals. Previously, the privilege was extended only to bearers of official passports.
Megawati said at the press conference, as reported by Antara, that her second visit to Vietnam would strengthen the relationship between the two countries, which was officially established in 1955.
The President also thanked the Vietnamese government for expressing support for Indonesia's territorial integrity and sovereignty in its war against separatist rebels in Aceh.
Indonesia's State Logistics Agency (Bulog) said last week it hoped to agree to a deal worth up to US$100 million with Vietnam under which Jakarta would buy rice and sugar from Hanoi which, in return, would receive technical assistance for a fertilizer plant.
Vietnam imports fertilizer and refined oil from Indonesia and exports rice and crude oil to the country.
In 2002, Indonesia, a key market for Vietnamese rice, bought 800,000 tons of the grain from Vietnam.
Total two-way trade between the countries was valued at $693 million in 2002, the state-run Vietnam News Agency said.
Megawati is scheduled to end her visit to Hanoi on Friday, the fourth leg of her Asian tour after Bangladesh, Mongolia and Japan.