by Ansar Mahmood Bhatti
ISLAMABAD, NOV 19 (DNA)- Ambassador of Indonesia Iwan S Amri has said defnece ties between the two countries have significantly increased after the signing of defnece cooperation agreement in 2010 adding we have now more institutionalized mechanism to reinforce our defence cooperation.
The Indonesian ambassador made these remarks on the occasion of 74th Armed Forces Day of Indonesia. Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ahmad Saeed was the chief guest while a large number of civil and military officers attended the reception besides members of the diplomatic corps.
The Indonesia ambassador along with Defence Attache Col Dody Muhtar Taufik received the guests.
Ambassador Amri further said both sides have also achieved notable developments such as Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) Army to Army and Navy to Navy talks, joint professional training courses, bilateral visits of top level defence officials and active participation of the Indonesian navy in AMAN joint naval exercises in Pakistan.
He said more recent progress in this regards is Indonesia-Pakistan joint Navy exercise named Sea Thunder IV at Karachi in October 2019 (Shaheen Ka Hamla) in March this year.
“Keeping this momentum we are planning for Air Force to Air Force talks in next phase in 2020|, he announced.
The ambassador said both countries enjoy excellent relations in all fields adding our relations are truly historic and unique as they existed even before the independence of the two countries during their freedom struggle from the colonial rule.
“Early strong base of fraternal ties between the top leadership of two countries paved the way for continuous new initiatives from both sides. We are now witnessing encouraging developments in our growing commercial, defence and socio-cultural ties with more understanding about each other” he added.
Talking about the Indonesian armed forces, the ambassador said, our forces are strongly committed to play their constructive role at the national, regional and international level for peace and stability among the people and the nations.
“Considering our wonderful fraternal ties, I firmly believe that Indonesia and Pakistan have a tremendous potential to further raise their defence cooperation, which will positively contribute to all peace and security initiatives in our respective regions.”
While sharing details of this year’s theme of armed forces, the Ambassador said, this year the day was being celebrated with the theme of “Professional and Pride of the People”. It reflects the firm commitment of our armed forces to protect the nation as a professional organization, which enjoys the support and trust of the Indonesian people.
It also highlights the important role of the army in nurturing the national integrity, Ambassador Amri concluded.=DNA
