PUTRAJAYA, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he chose Malaysia for his first state visit after his re-election as the Indonesian president as he felt that Malaysia was a close friend, a neighbour and a partner.

He said the visit was also aimed at maintaining cordial relations between both countries which went back in the annals of history, cultures and civilisation.

Susilo said if a problem cropped up, it must be resolved wisely and appropriately to maintain the good ties and cooperation, and not tainted by it.

"As a close neighbour, in the interaction with one another, definitely differences of opinion occur once in a while.

"In this light, Indonesia had faced similar problems before, for example, with the communities in Somalia, Africa; in Chile, Latin America, in Europe, but with a close neighbour, it happened once in a while.

"As leaders, our duty is to manage them (the problems) wisely so that they will not mar what we had achieved so far," he told reporters at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak here today.

Susilo, who is on a two day-day visit to Malaysia, said both countries agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in economics, education, international relations and the people's contacts.

"We have to seek more opportunities. Asia, including Southeast Asia, has emerged as the new global economic powerhouse.

"As such, Indonesia and Malaysia have a role to play in the regional economic development. We concurred that the Indonesian economy grows with an expanding domestic market while the Malaysian economy thrives in various areas. When these can be harnessed, there is a lot more we can do to enhance the bilateral cooperation.

"We have the IMTGT, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle, we had done a lot but we can do a lot more in the regional economic development," he said.

Susilo said as Indonesia was developing the agriculture sector through the application of the inti-plasma system, it welcome investments from the private sector from Malaysia.

Thanking Malaysia for employing Indonesian workers, Susilo said he admitted the problems over law and justice involving the workers but both countries should work on mechanisms to resolve issues that emanated.

"I appreciate the clarification given by the Malaysian prime minister in our meeting. Law and justice must be upheld. Offenders must be punished.

"Indonesia respects Malaysia's law and likewise foreigners in Indonesia must respect the republic's law," he said.

Susilo said efforts must be geared towards improving the recruitment process of Indonesian workers.