JAKARTA - Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday.
In reference to the recent earthquake and tsunami disasters in southeast Asia, Erdogan stressed that Turkey's sorrow is very deep. ''Our responsibility must be as big as our sorrow,'' said Erdogan.
Erdogan and Yudhoyono held a brief press conference after their meeting.
''Based on our inspections, we saw that the disaster was indeed very big. We are here to help you recover. Rescue and aid teams from the Turkish Red Crescent, municipalities and NGOs had come previously. We believe there need to be work on the construction of residential buildings, schools, hospitals and nursery schools. We have to help the unemployed in the region,'' told Erdogan. ''We should increase 500 US dollars trade volume between Turkey and Indonesia to two billion US dollars in two years. Besides, our businessmen can undertake joint projects in third countries.''
President Yudhoyono expressed happiness over Erdogan's visit to Jakarta.
''We are very glad to see you in Aceh. The Turkish government has provided considerable aid to the region. I thank Turkey on behalf of my people. We are pleased to see that there are no political disputes between the two countries. However, we must work on increasing our trade volume between Turkey and Indonesia,'' remarked Yudhoyono.
In reference to a question on the possibility of Turkey sending troops to the tsunami-stricken region and establishing a Turkish village, Erdogan said that these details are all rumors. ''We had indicated that, if a request came to us, we would evaluate it.''
''We could construct over 1,000 residential units in Indonesia. Once a land is allocated for this project, we would be able to help the people of Aceh.'' expressed Erdogan.
Yudhoyono remarked that his government will prepare a master plan and that, after an evaluation of the people's needs, Indonesia will request further assistance from its friends.
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan met the Indonesian Vice-President Muhammad Yusuf Kalla before his visit to the Indonesian President Yudhoyono.
Erdogan's meeting with Kalla lasted about 30 minutes.
Erdogan is in Indonesia, as part of his 5-countries tour of the tsunami-stricken regions.
Erdogan will fly to Kuala Lumpur after he completes his meetings in Jakarta.