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Jokowi and Turnbull to focus on economic, strategic links
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (right) shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in September last year in Vientiane, Laos. (Courtesy of Presidential Office/Laily Rachev)
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ustralian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement on Friday that he looked forward to welcoming Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to Australia this weekend, saying the visit would highlight “Australia’s deepening economic and strategic links with Indonesia”.
Jokowi and First Lady Iriana are scheduled to spend the weekend in Australia to discuss several things with Turnbull. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry has said the visit will, among other issues, push the ongoing negotiations on the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) that Jakarta expects to conclude this year.
Turnbull confirmed in his statement that the IA-CEPA would be included in the discussion.
“The bilateral relationship with Indonesia is vitally important to both countries and has never been stronger,” Turnbull said in the statement.
“As close friends and neighbors, Australia and Indonesia have a long, shared history. And as multicultural democracies, our countries have developed a strong 21st century partnership spanning broad areas of cooperation, including trade, tourism, counterterrorism, education and disaster relief,” the prime minister went on.
“I look forward to my talks with President Widodo and returning the warm hospitality I enjoyed during my visit to Jakarta in 2015,” Turnbull said.
Jokowi was slated to return the visit on Nov. 6-8 last year but because of the domestic political situation with a huge rally of Muslim protesters on Nov. 4, the palace decided to cancel the visit. (evi)
