President Jokowi to Visit Australia after Pancasila Incident
23 February 2017 19:50 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo plans to conduct a state visit to Australia on February 25 – February 26, 2017, to meet with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
“Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi will accompany the President on the state visit to Australia on February 25-26. This visit is important to show the relationship with neighboring countries and to strengthen the bilateral relation that is profitable and respectful to each other,” said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arrmanatha Nasir, on Thursday, February 23, 2017.
Read: Indonesia Finds Australian Military Training Materials Offensive
President Jokowi and PM Turnbull plan to discuss important issues that matter for both countries, especially in the economy sector, such as the accelerated implementation of the Economic Partnership between Indonesia and Australia.
Both leaders will also discuss the partnership expansion of both countries in a number of fields, such as education, cyber security, maritime partnership, and investments.
In relation to people-to-people contact, President Jokowi will also inaugurate the Indonesian language forum. There are at least three Indonesian language schools in Australia. “We will push for the internationalization of the Indonesian language. There are already three places available, such as the ones in Canberra and Melbourne,” Arrmanatha said.
The President will be accompanied by a number of state officials, such as Minister of Trade, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Investment Coordinating Board, and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs.
Read: Indonesia Suspends Cooperation with Australian Military
Early in the year, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) halted their partnership temporarily with the Australian Defense Force, since one of Australia’s military education material was caught to have contained an aspect that insulted Indonesia’s Pancasila (five national principles).
President Jokowi stated that he already received the report on the case and emphasized that both countries have made a deal with to respect each other and to not get involved in each country’s domestic affairs.
Australian Military has officially apologized for the incident.
ANTARA | S. DIAN ANDRYANTO