By Reporter Kayla Lee

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated, "We will continue to strength­en cooperation with ASEAN for peace and pros­perity in the Indo-Pacific re­gion." 

On the morning of May 21, President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit meeting with Presi­dent Joko Widodo of Indonesia on the occasion of his atten­dance at the Hiroshima G7 Summit. They discussed the South Korea-Indonesia rela­tionship and ASEAN coopera­tion.

The P resident Yoon ex­pressed his pleasure at the progress of cooperation proj­ects between the two countries since President Joko Widodo's visit to South Korea in July last year. He appreciated Pres­ident Joko Widodo's interest and support in enhancing in­vestment, infrastructure, and defense cooperation between South Korea and Indonesia.

President Joko Widodo em­phasized the importance of the bilateral cooperation between South Korea and Indonesia, celebrating the 50th anniver­sary of diplomatic relations this year. He requested active investment and collaboration from South Korea in areas such as agricultural develop­ment, electric vehicle ecosys­tem establishment, information communication technology, and small-scale nuclear power plants in Indonesia.

He also expressed his hope for the participation of many Korean companies with excellent tech­nological capabilities and expe­rience in Indonesia's ongoing project to relocate the capital to Nusantara. Furthermore, he requested support for the edu­cation and training of Indone­sian workers dispatched to Ko­rea. He also pledged to ensure smooth progress in defense co­operation between South Korea and Indonesia.

The President Yoon stated that our government attaches great importance to cooper­ation with Indonesia, a key partner in the development of future industries. He requested President Joko Widodo's inter­est and support for Korean in­vestment companies that have entered Indonesia, and assured that the Korean government will play a possible role in promoting various cooperative projects and encouraging Kore­an company participation.

Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo confirmed his active support for South Korea's pro­posed "Korea-ASEAN Solidar­ity Initiative (KASI)," a coop­eration plan with ASEAN, and President Yoon Suk-yeol stated that for peace and prosperi­ty in the Indo-Pacific region, South Korea will continue to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN. He also pledged close cooperation with Indonesia, the chair country of ASEAN this year, for this purpose.