KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian President Joko Widodo will hold a two-day official visit to Kuala Lumpur starting today which is expected to further strengthen the already close bilateral relations between Malaysia and Indonesia.
According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, this is Joko Widodo’s first visit to the country after being re-elected for the second term in the April 17 presidential election.
Jokowi, to be accompanied by his wife Iriana Joko Widodo, will be formally welcomed tomorrow at Dataran Perdana, Putrajaya.
Prime Minister and his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali will also host an official lunch to celebrate Jokowi and his wife in Seri Perdana.
“Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will hold a meeting with Jokowi to discuss bilateral issues and cooperation and exchange views on matters of mutual interest,” the statement said.
Indonesia is Malaysia’s closest and most important neighbouring country and Malaysia’s ninth largest trading partner globally and the third largest among Asean member states after Singapore and Thailand.
In 2018, the total bilateral trade volume was RM72.02 billion (USD17.85 billion), up 7.4 per cent from RM71.51 billion (USD16.62 billion) in 2017. – BERNAMA