Indonesia to Push Maritime Partnerships at D-8 Summit in Istanbul
Jakarta. Vice President Jusuf Kalla will attend a summit of eight developing nations in Istanbul on Friday (20/10) as Indonesia seeks to foster maritime partnerships.
The ninth summit of the Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, established in Istanbul 20 years ago, is the first in five years for the grouping consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, Egypt and Turkey.
The D-8 Summit will issue the Istanbul Declaration and the Istanbul Action Plan in which member countries will declare their commitments to revitalizing cooperation in a wide range of sectors, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday.
"Indonesia will focus on pushing for maritime cooperation," he added.
The government has been promoting President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's ambition of turning Indonesia into the world's maritime fulcrum since he took power in late 2014.
Indonesia has expedited the development and modernization of seaports across the archipelago to increase connectivity among regions and to boost the economy.
The Istanbul Action Plan will seek to strengthen cooperation in trade, industry, energy, tourism, agriculture and transportation, Arrmanatha said.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will accompany Kalla at the summit.
Trade among the countries in the grouping increased from $14.4 billion to $49 billion between 1999 and 2007.
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