Hanoi (VNA) – Leaders of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Indonesiaon November 25 discussed ways to strengthen their cooperation in various areas,including infrastructure projects and the economy.

During the meeting in Busan on the sidelines of a special summit between theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the RoK, RoK President MoonJae-in and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo discussed ways to expand thescope of cooperation in various areas. In particular, they shared theirunderstanding of the expansion of Korean firms taking part in Indonesia'sinfrastructure projects.

The RoK President called for Widodo's attention and support to help Koreanautomakers operate their businesses stably in the Indonesian market.

President Widodo, for his part, hoped that more Korean firms could participatein various infrastructure projects as his country is active in attractinginvestment on the basis of solid economic growth.

On the same day, the RoK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said thecountry concluded a free trade deal with Indonesia, called the ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a move aimed at expanding its tradeportfolio in the Southeast Asian market.

The two countries will officially sign thedeal in the first half of 2020 and implement it after securing approval fromtheir respective parliaments, the ministry said.

The two resumed their FTA negotiations this year after a hiatus of five years.The talks began in 2012./.