Indonesia and Egypt agreed to improve ties, particularly on trade and investment, during bilateral talks between President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Presidential Palace on Friday.



Jokowi deemed El-Sisi's visit a sign of strong ties between Indonesia and Egypt, which was the first country to recognize the sovereign state of Indonesia in 1947, two years after the former colony proclaimed independence.



Both countries are considered founders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Islamic G8.



'We have agreed to enhance trade and investment ties, as there are a large number of Indonesian investment in Egypt,' Jokowi said during a joint press statement.



'And Indonesia has also asked the Egyptian government to help ease business and increase protection for Indonesian investors.'



Bilateral trade between the two countries reached US$1.48 billion in 2014. In the four-year period from 2010, bilateral trade rose by 4 percent on average.



The two countries will also make efforts to realize a new trade target of $2 billion by 2020, and encourage the establishment of an Indonesia-Egypt trade committee.



Indonesia's investment value in Egypt reaches around $260 million, and lies particularly in food products, tires, household goods and textiles, according to the Foreign Ministry.



The two leaders also discussed efforts to boost democracy and peaceful Islamic values, emphasizing the need to strengthen cooperation to counter extremism.



'We also exchanged ideas on how to develop democracy and Islam's rahmatan lil alamin [blessing for the universe]. We discussed radicalism, extremism and terrorism,' Jokowi added.



Indonesia had, the President said, asked Egypt to provide protection for around 3,000 Indonesian students and 1,200 migrant workers living in the country.



El-Sisi thanked Jokowi for his warm welcome during his visit to Jakarta as he emphasized that the visit was a sign of strengthening bilateral ties.



According to El-Sisi, the two countries have agreed to joint efforts in confronting growing challenges, particularly in the fight against terrorism and radicalism.



'We will coordinate efforts to confront the challenges of terrorism and radicalism,' said the Egyptian president.



During the talks, Egypt also expressed assurances regarding the safety of Indonesians living in Egypt.



'We have reaffirmed our assurance that the Egyptian government will maintain and provide security to anyone who is in Egyptian territory,' said the former military general.



Egypt promoted its recently inaugurated expansion of the Suez Canal to Indonesia in a bid to support bilateral trade, according to Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi.



In his efforts to attract foreign investors to Egypt, El-Sisi recently inaugurated the canal expansion, which is expected to almost double the traffic of ships able to pass through the canal.



'President El-Sisi has expressed his willingness to make investment easier for Indonesian investors,' Retno said.



During the meeting, the two countries signed two memorandums of understanding on visa waivers for diplomatic passports and for diplomatic education and training.



In April, Jokowi held bilateral talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab on the sidelines of events to mark the 60th anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference in Jakarta, agreeing to step up defense dialogue between the two countries.



On that occasion, Indonesia and Egypt also concluded that stability in the Middle East could be maintained through peaceful solutions.



Egyptian-Indonesian relations are deeply rooted, with the two countries maintaining cooperation in several fields and adopting similar stances on many regional and international issues, particularly those related to Islam.



Jakarta's stop wrapped up El-Sisi's Asia tour, which included visits to Singapore and China.



He is expected to visit the ASEAN secretariat headquarters on Saturday to meet the secretary-general and discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations and economic cooperation.

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