RI, Netherlands Sign MOU on Defense Cooperation

London (Antara) - Indonesia and the Netherlands have signed a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation,First Secretary of the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague Danang Waskito said here on Saturday. The MoU, which reflects stronger bilateral relations between the two countries, was signed by Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and Dutch Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. According to Danang Waskito, points of cooperation arranged in the MoU included strategic dialogs between the two countries, exchanges of visits, education advancement, defense training and education and other efforts aimed at increasing human resources' capacity of the two countries' defense institutions. The defense ministers also held bilateral dialogs on the implementation of the MoU and the exchange of views on the two countries' respective roles in international and regional missions. During his visit to the Netherlands, the Indonesian defense minister also paid visits to Royal Netherlands Defense Academy in Breda, the University of Leiden and Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO - Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk). The Indonesian defense minister also met with the Indonesian Navy's Task Force which was in charge of building a missiles guard destroyer ship at the Vlissingen. Dutch defense minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert is also slated to attend the Jakarta International Defense Dialog (JIDD) in Jakarta next March. (*)