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Jokowi will focus on political, economics talks in US visit: Minister
All ready: President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo is set to discuss a number of issues, primarily in the fields of economics and politics, during his visit to the US scheduled to take place from Oct
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All ready: President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo is set to discuss a number of issues, primarily in the fields of economics and politics, during his visit to the US scheduled to take place from Oct. 25 to Oct. 30. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari) (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
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span class="inline inline-center">All ready: President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo is set to discuss a number of issues, primarily in the fields of economics and politics, during his visit to the US scheduled to take place from Oct. 25 to Oct. 30. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's visit to the US was aimed at increasing bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the fields of politics and economics.
'There will be several meetings with business players, who are quite influential,' the minister said as quoted by tempo.co on Sunday. She was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an event in Padang, West Sumatra, on Friday.
Retno said the two leaders, President Jokowi and President Barack Obama, would also discuss regional and global issues. 'It would not be strange if issues like the tensions in the Middle East would emerge during the talks,' she said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said President Jokowi was set to arrive in the US on Sunday and had been scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with President Obama on the following day.
Arrmanatha said President Jokowi would also visit San Francisco to meet several top technology business players as parts of the government's efforts to develop digital technologies and the creative economy in Indonesia.
'Moreover, Indonesia is currently one of the biggest social media users in Southeast Asia,' he said.
Arrmanatha also confirmed there had been no plan of the meeting between Jokowi and executives of Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., which operates the world's largest gold mine in Grasberg, Papua, in Washington, DC.
'There is no plan on the meeting [with Freeport officials],' he said.
Separately, rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on President Obama and President Jokowi to address increasing threats to women's rights and religious freedom in Indonesia when they meet in Washington, DC, on Monday.
'Indonesia is damaging its reputation as a tolerant Muslim society by weakening protections for women and religious minorities,' HRW's Asia advocacy director John Sifton said.
'Rights-respecting governments don't require women to take bogus virginity tests to become military officers or tolerate attacks on minority houses of worship.'
HRW says it has documented that Indonesia's National Police and armed forces require female applicants to take degrading and unscientific 'virginity tests'.
The watchdog also says an increasing number of local governments have enacted discriminatory laws in recent years restricting women's rights ' including regulating how women sit on motorcycles and the kind of skirts and headscarves they can wear.
'Indonesian law contains other discriminatory regulations targeting women and girls, including allowing female genital mutilation and child marriage,' it says, adding that religious minorities had also been facing threats and violence from Islamist militant groups. (ebf)
