'Turkey, Indonesia should unite against Islamophobia'

By Behlul Cetinkaya

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey and Indonesia should work together to support the Muslim community against Islamophobia and discrimination, according to Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday.

"We should support the [Muslim] community by working together with Indonesia and fight against these," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference alongside Indonesian counterpart Retno Parsudi in Jakarta.

Cavusoglu highlighted the increased threats of Islamophobia and discrimination against the Muslim world and said the two countries should also stand together against attempts to harm their values.

"As two important Muslim countries we must protect the mutual aims and interests of our countries and the [Muslim] community," he said.

He noted that 2020 was the 70th year of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Ankara and Jakarta, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's planned Indonesia visit next year would initiate a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries.

Cavusoglu said the countries had also agreed to increase the bilateral trade volume to $10 billion from current $1.5 billion, as well as to boost investments in both nations.

Cavusoglu and Parsudi also inked a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic cooperation, as well as diplomat exchanges and training.

*Writing by Sena Guler

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