TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, in a telephone call on Monday evening, congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping to commemorate the president for the 70th anniversary of both nation’s bilateral ties.

This communication was issued by the Indonesian state secretariat’s office today which saw President Jokowi say: “Thank you for the letter President Xi, in regards to the commemoration of the 70 years of bilateral relations, I hope the partnership and relations between both countries will grow stronger and be beneficial for both nations.”

In the official statement, the president also appreciated the results of the meeting with Indonesian foreign affairs minister Retno Marsudi and State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir a while back that mainly discussed economic and health sectors that would benefit the two countries.

“I truly appreciate the support shown by the Chinese government to strengthen the strategic health partnership, which includes the co-production and provisioning COVID-19 vaccines,” said Jokowi, cited from the state-secretary website.

The president asserts that the partnership between the two countries must not stop even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which has produced the travel corridor between China and Indonesia.

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EGI ADYATAMA