RI - S Korea's Important Partner

Nusa Dua (Antara Bali) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said the ever increasingly closer cooperation between his country and Indonesia is a manifestation of the two nations' understanding of each other's crucial role.

"In 2008 and 2011, both countries faced a monetary crisis. They cooperated to address the crisis and now they are enjoying the fruits of democratic development and economic cooperation," he said when receiving an Adipurna medal of merit from the Indonesian government at Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday evening.

Lee said Indonesia which is one of the world's rapidly growing nations is South Korea's important partner.

Realizing that the two nations had the ever increasingly closer ties, Lee said he once asked South Korean companies not to lay off Indonesian migrant workers during the 2008 and 2011 monetary woes.

"The ties between two countries are not just government-to-government cooperation but also heart-to-heart cooperation," he said.

Lee believed that relations between the two countries will become increasingly closer and benefit the two nations in the future.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed optimism that trade relations between the two countries will reach US$100 billion in 2020 based on a number of cooperation agreements that have been and will be signed by the two nations.

"In the economic field, the value of two-way trade rose from US$11 billion in 2007 to US$30 billion in 2011. I am convinced the target of US$50 billion for 2015 and US$100 billion for 2020 could be achieved," he said. (*/T007)