SINGAPORE and Indonesia ended their sixth round of talks on maritime boundaries on Friday, with both countries reporting 'very good progress' made.

Their governments said in a joint statement that they had 'productive discussions and are satisfied with the very good progress made at this round'.

The two-day meeting in Bali, Indonesia was cordial and both sides will meet again in Singapore to 'carry on with the work', added the statement, released by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The date of the next meeting has yet to be decided, an MFA spokesman told The Straits Times on Friday.

Singapore's delegation to the meeting was led by Mr S. Tiwari, special consultant at the International Affairs Division of the Attorney-General's Chambers.

The leader of the Indonesian delegation was Mr Arif Havas Oegroseno, director for treaties on political, security and territorial affairs at Indonesia's Department of Foreign Affairs.

The demarcation of Indonesia's boundaries was raised in 2004 as an issue to be resolved when then-deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Jakarta and met former president Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The first round of technical discussions was held a year later, in February 2005.