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Jokowi to touch base with ‘traditional’ partners: Retno
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the President would visit Beijing on July 26, Tokyo on July 27 and Seoul on July 28 to strengthen economic ties and promote multilateralism.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (left) speaks to China's President Xi Jinping during a family photo session in front of the Osaka Castle at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (AFP/Tomohiro Ohsumi)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will make brief visits to longtime development partners China, Japan and South Korea next week, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi announced on Thursday – amid strict COVID-19 curbs.
The Indonesian leader will visit Beijing on July 26, before heading to Tokyo the next day and Seoul after that. The trip will focus on strengthening economic ties with each partner and promoting multilateralism, Retno said.
“These three countries are Indonesia’s strategic economic partners,” the minister told an online press briefing.
In his first stop, Jokowi is expected to meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping.
Retno said the President’s itinerary in Beijing would include witnessing the extension of a memorandum of understanding to “synergize” Indonesia’s Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF) development strategy with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The GMF-BRI initiative is Jokowi’s response to China’s ambitious international infrastructure push, which has raised concerns over a heightened risk of national debt bondage. Jokowi sought to link the BRI with his 2014 strategy to improve connectivity across the archipelago.
China is currently Indonesia’s biggest trade partner, recording US$110 billion in 2021. It is also the nation’s third-largest investor, funneling $3.2 billion in 2021.
