Jakarta, July 8 -- The governments of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) are exploring ways to strengthen and expand their cooperation in security and defense.

According to a press release issued by the Indonesian Defense Ministry here on Tuesday, Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and his PNG counterpart Billy M. Joseph exchanged views on bolstering bilateral defense ties during a meeting in Port Moresby, PNG, on Monday.

"This visit affirms both countries' commitment to enhancing non-pact defense cooperation based on equality and mutual respect," head of the ministry's information bureau, Brigadier General Frega Ferdinand Wenas Inkiriwang, said.

He said that Sjamsoeddin and Joseph discussed concrete steps to accelerate the impleme...