President Yudhoyono Receives Former Japanese PM

Bogor, West Java (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda at Bogor Palace in West Java, on Friday and facilitated a great cooperation opportunity between the two countries. "We have a great opportunity to step up our cooperation in the fields of economy and others," stated President Yudhoyono, adding that relations between Indonesia and Japan, during the rule of Fukuda, remained strong and had continued to progress. The head of state also added that he had a fruitful meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo last week. "The bilateral meeting with Abe in Tokyo was fruitful and we agreed to implement more tangible cooperation in the years to come," noted Yudhoyono, at Bogor Palace room where the Bogor Goal was formulated during APEC meeting in 1994. He also appreciated his meeting with Japan's business leaders group in Japan-Indonesia Association (JAPINDA) during his working visit to Japan last week. "I was glad to have a direct dialog with our partners, Japan's business leaders, who have been cooperating well with Indonesia," Yudhoyono noted. (*)