As a part of his state visit to Bangladesh, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Sunday afternoon became the first official head of state to go to a Rohingya refugee camp on Myanmar’s border.

Jokowi went to Camp Jamtoli, one of many refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar district, after meeting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, with an entourage consisting of First Lady Iriana, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Rina Soemarno, among others. They were there to inspect the activities of Indonesians working to help the refugees. Jokowi met with members of the Indonesia Humanitarian Alliance Dreamers Medical Camps, which was one of the health facilities that resulted from a cooperation agreement between the Indonesian government and NGOs.

“I come here to Cox’s Bazar to directly see the activities of the Indonesian communities, the government and the NGOs,” Jokowi said, according to the Presidential Press Bureau.

The President said Indonesia was committed to continue assisting the nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees who have been fleeing from a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August last year.

“Our government has always been ready to take part in coordinating [the meeting of the refugees’] needs in the field since the beginning and we will provide humanitarian aid continuously,” Jokowi said after the visit.

He also interacted with some refugees and personally gave blankets and food supplements to mothers and children. He also oversaw and helped distribute humanitarian assistance in the form of water pumps, medicine and school equipment.

“The government will also soon provide health facilities, namely hospitals, additional shelters, educational centers, trauma healing, three ambulances for medical services, solar panels and water purifiers,” Jokowi said.

His visit took place after a meeting with the Bangladeshi prime minister in Dhaka on Sunday. After arriving at Cox’s Bazar Airport at about 12:40 p.m. Jokowi was briefed by Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner Ali Hossain regarding the handling of Rakhine refugees before he drove 70 kilometers to Camp Jamtoli.

Bangladesh was one of the five South and Central Asian countries that Jokowi have visited since Wednesday. On Friday and Saturday, the President was in Pakistan and on Monday, upon leaving Bangladesh, Jokowi is scheduled to visit Afghanistan, only a few days after a suicide bombing claimed by the Taliban killed at least 103 people and wounded 235 in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter.

The Foreign Ministry’s director for South and Central Asian affairs, Ferdy Piay, said there had been no change of plans despite the attack having occurred near the Indonesian Embassy.

“The security measures were entirely the responsibility of the host country, but we are intensively coordinating with them and evaluating the latest security development,” he said.

Ambassador Rina said Jokowi’s visit to Bangladesh was highly anticipated since “it was the first state visit for 15 years,” she said. “Especially because PM Sheikh Hasina has visited Indonesia several time,” she added.

“I am delighted that in recent times, Indonesia and Bangladesh relations have intensified, including an increase in economic cooperation,” Jokowi said. “I also welcome the agreement to negotiate the PTA [preferential trade agreement]. ”

In total, there were five memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries, including an MoU on foreign office consultation, a joint communique on the cooperation to combat (illegal, unreported and unlicensed fishing, a joint ministerial statement on the launch of negotiations for an Indonesian-Bangladeshi PTA, a power agreement between Bangladesh Power Development Board and PT Pertamina and a trade agreement between Pertamina and Petrobangla.

As Indonesia and Bangladesh are both members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, Jokowi also said he wanted the two countries to increase cooperation in the Indian Ocean region because of its economic potential. “The cooperation should also be based on mutual trust and habit of dialogue done openly and transparently, inclusively and in respect to international law,” he added.

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