Jakarta (ANTARA) - President of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) invited Prime Minister (PM) of the Cook Islands Mark Brown to enhance cooperation in order to create a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Pacific region.Indonesian President Jokowi believes this can be achieved through a spirit of collaboration and mutual respect for the sovereignty and integrity of each region. "I am sure Your Excellency has the same view and voiced this at the Pacific Islands Forum," Jokowi noted in a statement received in Jakarta, Saturday. President Jokowi conveyed this during the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Brown at the Rihga Royal Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, on Saturday, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. "This is our first meeting since bilateral relations were opened in 2019. Congratulations also on His Excellency's chairmanship of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)," Jokowi stated. President Jokowi reminded that as fellow Pacific countries, Indonesia and the Cook Islands must unite and jointly deal with maritime issues and climate change that will be the challenges in future. Moreover, President Jokowi expressed Indonesia's keenness to be directly involved in supporting development in Pacific countries. "We are also preparing a road map for development cooperation in the Pacific as a follow-up to the Indonesia-Pacific Forum for Development," he remarked. Jokowi noted that Indonesia and the Cook Islands also have the opportunity to increase cooperation in various fields, such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, education, and natural disaster management. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi accompanied the president during the bilateral meeting with the Cook Islands PM. Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Director of East Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Santo Darmosumarto were also present.
Source: Antara News Agency