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Jokowi to host Malaysia’s new PM
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is scheduled to have meetings with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the Indonesian business community, the chief editors of certain Indonesian media organizations and members of the Malaysian diaspora residing in the country.
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Then-incoming Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob waves as he leaves his house in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 21 to take the oath of office to become the country's new leader. (AFP/Handout)
M
alaysia’s new prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, will make a courtesy call on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during a three-day visit to Jakarta, officials have said, as the two neighbors set their sights on pandemic recovery cooperation.
The prime minister arrived on Tuesday afternoon and will stay until Thursday in his first overseas trip since taking his oath of office in August, continuing a tradition between the two culturally connected countries in which a new leader visits the other in his or her first official trip abroad.
Jokowi visited Kuala Lumpur in 2015 on his first overseas bilateral visit. He later received Mahathir Mohamad in 2018 and Muhyiddin Yassin – whom Ismail Sabri replaced – earlier this year.
“[The visit] will provide an opportunity for the leaders to advance collaboration toward effective recovery as two immediate neighbors with the impacts of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic,” Malaysia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The Malaysian leader is scheduled for meetings with Jokowi, the Indonesian business community, the chief editors of certain Indonesian media organizations and members of the Malaysian diaspora residing in the country. He is also set to visit a defense industry facility in Bandung, West Java.
Jokowi and Ismail Sabri are expected to discuss economic cooperation and their shared national interests as leaders of the largest and second-largest palm oil producers in the world, as well as progress on maritime border negotiations.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah met on Tuesday in preparation for the leaders’ meeting on Wednesday. They discussed ways to jump-start the economy and reopen borders and compared notes on ASEAN cooperation.
