India, Indonesia agree on plan of action to strengthen ties

New Delhi, June 18 (UNI) India and Indonesia today came out with a plan of action to implement the New Strategic Partnership that covers trade, investment, defence, space and IT.

''We are confident that this document (plan of action) will provide the blue print for the realisation of the strategic partnership,'' External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a press conference he addressed in Jakarta jointly with his Indonesian counterpart N Hassan Wirajuda.

The action plan was finalised at the third meeting of the India-Indonesia Joint Commission where the two sides were led by Mr Mukherjee and Mr Wirajuda and the talks between the two Ministers.

The strategic partnership, forged in November 2005 during the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to India, also envisages greater cooperation in science and technology and high level political contacts between asia's two largest pluralistic democracies.

''Relations between India and Indonesia are endowed with unique characteristics. Perhaps, there is no other country with which India shares so much in common in termsof georgraphy, size, diversity, historical and civilisation ties as Indonesia,'' Mr Mukherjee said.

Indonesia was a key strategic partner of India in the ASEA and in the context of New Delhi's ''Look East'' policy and as such his Ministry would like the bilateral relations to move forward taking advantage of the synergies, he said.

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