Prabowo Welcomes Jokowi Returning Back from China, Saudi Arabia.

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was welcomed by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Admiral Yudo Margo upon his arrival in Indonesia after concluding visits to China and Saudi Arabia.

The head of state landed at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at 2:25 a.m. local time, according to the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat.

Earlier, President Jokowi embarked on working visits to Beijing, China, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, successively.

In Beijing, on Tuesday (October 17), the president held meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang.

During their meeting, President Jokowi and President Xi discussed various topics, including efforts to strengthen investment cooperation, follow-up actions to develop the "Two Countries, Twin Parks" economic corridor, and China's support for Indonesia's priority export products.

Meanwhile, during his meeting with PM Li on the same day, President Jokowi commended China's interest in investing in the housing and health sectors for the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara in East Kalimantan.

"I appreciate the design planning cooperation between IKN Nusantara and Shenzhen City and also Chinese private companies' interest to invest in the housing and health sectors in IKN," Jokowi told Li.

Furthermore, on Wednesday (October 18), President Jokowi attended the opening ceremony of The Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation, during which he expressed hope that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would be implemented based on the principle of equal partnership.

"The BRI project must be based on the principle of equal and mutually beneficial partnership and equipped with careful planning," President Jokowi noted in his remarks at the opening ceremony of the event at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing.

After the opening ceremony, the president met with Zhao Leji, Chairman of China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, to discuss the comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries at the same venue.

"The comprehensive strategic partnership between Indonesia and China has been fostered for 10 years. We should continue to maintain it in the hopes of strengthening our ties," President Jokowi remarked at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing.

In Saudi Arabia, President Jokowi had the opportunity to meet with Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud on Thursday (October 19) at Al Yamama Palace, Riyadh.

Both figures made the most of their bilateral meeting to discuss various matters, including the raging armed conflict between Palestinian Hamas and Israel.

The meeting resulted in several agreements, including the plan to form the Indonesia-Saudi Arabia Supreme Coordination Council, the establishment of cooperation in the field of halal product assurance, and an additional hajj quota of 20 thousand for Indonesia for 2024.

On the next day, the president participated in the 1st Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) in Riyadh where he urged ASEAN and GCC to jointly prevent the dire situation in Gaza from deteriorating further.

"We should not forget that the root of the problem is Israeli occupation against Palestinian territories. That is the very thing we should resolve according to the international parameters that have been agreed upon," he stated during the summit that was followed via the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel.

ANTARA

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