Wahyu Dwi Anggoro
IDXChannel - Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey Achmad Rizal Purnama has presented the letter of credentials from Indonesian President Joko Widood (Jokowi) to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace of Turkey in Ankara on 17 January.
The bilateral discussion between President Erdogan and the Indonesian Ambassador took place in the reception room of the Presidential Palace of Turkey. Ambassador Rizal revealed that President Erdogan paid special attention to Indonesia, which continues to advocate for the Palestinian issue in various international forums.
"President Erdogan was impressed when I showed a video showing the closeness between President Erdogan and President Jokowi holding hands during the OIC Summit in Riyadh some time ago, a video of me driving a Turkish-made electric car, TOGG, and the extent of my visits to various defence industries in Turkey in the last three months," said Ambassador Rizal in a media release.
In the meeting, President Erdogan also expressed his wishes for the upcoming Indonesian elections to run smoothly and successfully, bringing goodness and progress to the people of Indonesia.
Ambassador Rizal also conveyed the priorities of 1+4 bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade and cooperation in defence and strategic industries, energy, construction, and pharmaceuticals.
In the bilateral discussions, President Erdogan and Ambassador Rizal agreed to achieve the target of USD10 billion in bilateral trade, conclude negotiations on the second free trade agreement between the two countries, expand defence industry cooperation, strengthen security and counter-terrorism cooperation, and develop energy cooperation.
On the same occasion, two other ambassadors from Venezuela and Canada also presented their letters of credentials to President Erdogan.
Ambassador Rizal has been carrying out his duties in Turkey since early September 2023, after being inaugurated by the President Jokowi in June 2023. With the presentation of these credentials, Ambassador Rizal has completed all the diplomatic protocol stages to fully perform his duties as the representative of the Indonesian government in Turkey. (WHY)
