We agreed that together we should get the license from the US."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and South Korea held the first meeting of the High Working Level Strategic Dialogue (HWLSD) at the Pancasila Building of the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry here on Monday.

"This is a mandate of the meeting between the Korean and Indonesian presidents last year who had tasked two vice ministers of foreign affairs to hold a dialogue," Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs A.M. Fachir stated after the meeting here on Monday.

Fachir and his South Korean counterpart Lim Sung-nam co-chaired the first meeting of the HWLSD between the two countries.

The meeting was held to strengthen bilateral relations within the implementation framework of President Joko Widodos state visit to the Republic of Korea in 2016.

Representatives from the two countries discussed several agenda items of bilateral cooperation, such as in the fields of defense, trade and investment, maritime affairs, social and cultural, as well as consular and labor.

In the defense sector, the two countries focused on the continuation of the Indonesia-Korean submarine deal and the joint KF-X/IF-X fighter aircraft project.

Indonesia has received two submarines, which were built in a Korean shipyard, while the third one is expected to be built in the Indonesian shipyard of PT PAL Indonesia in Surabaya under a transfer of technology scheme.

Meanwhile, the development of the KF-X/IF-X project has been on hold due to licensing problems.

"We agreed that together we should get the license from the US," Fachir said.

South Korea has been a strategic partner of Indonesia.

In 2016, South Korea became the sixth-largest trading partner for Indonesia and ranks as the ninth-largest foreign investment contributor for Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has been encouraging Korean entrepreneurs to increase investment in the fields of infrastructure, energy, and food security.

The first HWLSD has identified strategic cooperation that will be executed through a bilateral arrangement.

The first HWLSD was also attended by representatives from the Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Commerce, Investment Coordinating Board, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The second meeting of HWLSD will be held in Korea in 2019.
(Uu.A059/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Reporter: Aditya E.S. Wicaksono
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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