TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A rare moment was seen during the state leaders’ lunch session on the sidelines of the Bali G20 Summit. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was spotted engaging in an extensive chat with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

Before sitting down, Jokowi was seen starting to chat with MBS even though the topic was not yet known. MBS appeared to be standing next to the chair that will be occupied by Jokowi.

In the middle of their conversation, German chancellor Olaf Scholz joined in on the conversation. Not long after, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the men and greeted MBS who stood beside Joko Widodo.

Just a few years prior, the bilateral relationship between Turkey and Saudi Arabia reached its lowest level since the killing of a critical journalist against the Saudi kingdom, Jamal Kashoggi, in 2018, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Bilateral relations had only started to normalize between the two countries after Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia in April this year.

Tempo asked the spokesperson of the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry Teuku Faizasyah about the encounter between Jokowi and MBS. However, he said there were no specific issues that were discussed between the two state leaders.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO

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