Indonesian President Joko Widodo and visiting Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong held talks in Indonesia's Central Java capital of Semarang on November 14, discussing ways to further expand economic ties between the two nations.

The two leaders agreed to set up a business council to boost business activities between the two countries. PM Lee said the council will create an added value for the bilateral partnership.

Speaking at a joint press conference, President Widodo stressed that Singapore is a key partner of Indonesia in various fields.

Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of four agreements in the fields of health, tourism, digital economy and the building of a smart city in Makassar.

They also attended a ceremony to kick off construction of the Kendal Industrial Park in Semarang, 450 km east of Jakarta. The park has been the largest joint project between the two countries since 1990.

Scheduled to become operational in 2020, the 2,700ha park is expected to attract up to 200 trillion rupiah (about 14.9 billion USD) of investment and create 500,000 jobs. It will focus on producing furniture, food, bike and construction materials to serve domestic consumption and export.

Singapore investment in Indonesia was recorded at 7.1 billion USD in the first nine months this year, or 44 percent higher than in the same period last year.

(Source: VNA)