In his written statement to mark the 71st anniversary of Indonesian independence, August 17, Ambassador Ibnu Hadi said the two countries have set a target of US$10 billion in bilateral trade by 2018. 

The diplomat said Vietnam and Indonesia are ASEAN members and have many things in common.

The two countries enjoy strong economic growth, have young populations, and productive labour forces and aim to industrialize while developing agriculture, fishery and mine exploitation. 

He expressed his hope for connectivity between Hanoi and the capital cities of other ASEAN countries, including Indonesia’s Jakarta, which will help boost tourism, trade and economic exchanges between the two nations.