Indonesia, S.Korea Urged To Increase Cooperation

Jakarta, Jan 9 (ANTARA) - Chairman of the Indonesian Regional Representative Council (DPD) Irman Gusman called on Indonesia and South Korea to increase their cooperation in the eductional and cultural fields to further strengthen both nations` friendly relations. "Indonesia and South Korea have established friendly relations since a long time ago. Although the presidents of the two countries always changed but their friendly relations continue to be fostered," Irman Gusman said after receiving a South Korean Parliamentary Delegation here on Tuesday. Irman said that educational and cultural fields had the potentials to be developed by both nations because Indonesia was rich in human resources while South Korea had advanced technology. Cooperation could be carried out in the form of scholarships for Indonesian students to pursue eduction in South Korea or vise versa, he said. "South Korean students could also study in Indonesia," the DPD chairman said. He said that South Korean culture developed and was well accepted in Indonesia such as South Koran dances, music and Taekwondo martial art. "We made the cooperation proposal to the Korean delegation. We hoped that the proposal would be discussed between the South Korean Parliament and the government," Irman said. On the occasion, chairman of the South Korean Parliamentary delegation, Choi Kyu Sung, hailed the proposal saying the delegation would deliver the proposal to the South Korean government. In the meantime, Indonesian Constitutional Court (MK) chairman Mahfud MD welcomed South Korean constitutional court envoy Lee Kang Kook, who arrived here on Tuesday on a visit aimed at strengthening relations between the courts of the two countries. "We feel lucky to receive this visit. The cooperation between Indonesia`s and South Korea`s constitutional courts has improved and we have succeeded in establishing the Asia Constitutional Court Association," Mahfud said. He noted that both Indonesian and South Korean constitutional courts were independent and free of intervention from any kind of interest group in the world. Meanwhile, Mahfud`s South Korean counterpart, Lee, said he was honoured to visit the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. He also expressed appreciation for the cooperation between the two courts in the establishment of the Asia Constitutional Court Association. "I believe the ties between the constitutional courts of Indonesia and Korea, which were established a few years ago, were based on common goals," he noted. "The Indonesian Constitutional Court has supported us and the association," Lee said. He stated that constitutional courts should be independent while carrying out their functions. Lee highlighted the importance of independence for constitutional courts and praised the Indonesian Constitutional Court for being able to operate independently. He expressed hope that South Korea`s Constitutional Court would also "achieve the same level of independence". "The Constitutional Court of South Korea is independent of political interests, but we still struggle to handle the media and public opinion," Lee pointed out. In the end, Mahfud MD and Lee bade farewell to each other, as their terms would end this year.