JAKARTA. Indonesia and Vietnam have agreed to double bilateral trade to US$10 billion in 2018 from $5.59 billion in 2015. The agreement was made during a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Summit.

"In 2015, our trade value amounted to $5.59 billion. It experienced a yearly increase trend of 6.47 percent over the last three years," President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stated in a press statement issued in Sochi, Russia, on Thursday.

The upward trend, he further said, was seen on the back of a strategic partnership agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam sealed in 2013.

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President Jokowi highlighted Vietnam’s important position as the country’s trade partner in the Southeast Asia region, especially for rice as the main staple food in Indonesia.

The leaders also welcomed the result of the eighth technical meeting on the exclusive economic zone. The result, which comes after discussion on March 22-24, will be followed up by continued negotiations over maritime boundaries between Indonesia and Vietnam. (Ayomi Amindoni)