4/25/08 09:55

Mou on RI-US defense cooperation to be formalized soon

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defense cooperation between Indonesia and the United States will be formalized within the next two months, an Indonesian defense ministry official said.

"We have submitted a number of formulations concerning defense cooperation between the two countries, and with the MoU the cooperation is expected to become more effective," the ministry`s director general for defense strategy, Maj Gen Syarifuddin Tippe, said here Thursday.

He pointed out that in the 6th Indonesia-United States Security Dialog (IUSSD) in Washington DC on April 14-20, the two parties agreed to formalize as soon as possible their agreement to cooperate in defense matters.

Syarifuddin said that with such a legal umbrella, defense cooperation between the two countries could cover wider areas and would be more effective than before.

"Also, after the MoU has been signed , the two parties will be equal in position in every negotiation on every field and form of cooperation in the defense field," Syarifuddin said, adding that the RI-US Security Dialog was a follow-up on a joint statement of the two countries` presidents in Washington DC in September 2001. (*)