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SEOUL : Indonesia and South Korea agreed to enhance economic cooperation during a summit on Tuesday between their leaders, with huge energy deals soon to be sealed, officials said.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hoped to win access to South Korea's energy and IT sector expertise during the summit, President Roh Moo-Hyun's office said in a statement.
Roh in turn hoped to boost mutual cooperation in nuclear energy and defence during the talks with Yudhoyono, who is on a four-day state visit to Seoul until Thursday, it added.
Yudhoyono will witness the signing of 14 agreements covering government administration, energy, special industrial zones and transport infrastructure, his cabinet secretary Sudi Silalahi said earlier.
"The highest value is in the energy sector, that is 8.5 billion dollars," Silalahi said in Seoul.
The two sides are scheduled to sign eight energy deals at a fourm in Seoul on Wednesday, South Korea's ministry of commerce, industry and energy said.
The biggest of the deals, all of which are at a preliminary stage, is a 5.5 billion dollar direct coal liquefaction project in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province on Borneo island.
The project to extract crude oil from coal involves Indonesia's Nuansa Cipta Coal Investment and South Korea's Kenertec, POSCO Engineering and Construction and Samsung Securities, according to Jakarta officials.
In other major projects, Indonesia's state railway Kereta Api, the East Kalimantan provincial government and Cipta Coal Investment are set to sign an agreement with Kenertec and POSCO Engineering worth two billion dollars to build coal transport infrastructure.
A preliminary pact will also be signed for a 600-million-dollar deal to develop the Tanjung Api-api Energy Industry Zone in South Sumatra, involving Petras Indonesia and a Korean consortium represented by Innet Co.
The deals, if finalised, are good news for Indonesia which is trying to boost foreign investment and for South Korea which is eager to diversify its foreign energy sources.
The two leaders signed a joint declaration on a strategic partnership during Roh's visit to Jakarta last December. - AFP/de
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