VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday, which extended a special invitation to Jokowi on behalf of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ).

Members of the delegation invited the President to witness the signing of a trade agreement between the two countries at the end of March 2022, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan informed.

"President Jokowi had a talk with Emirati Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, as Prince MBZ’s special envoy for almost an hour," he said, according to an official statement received here on Monday.

In addition, the meeting, which took place at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, also discussed the follow-up of the realization of an investment agreement between Indonesia and UAE that was brokered by the Indonesian Investment Authority (INA), he added.

Thereafter, the coordinating minister said President Jokowi  directed him to settle several pending matters regarding investment cooperation between the two countries.

"President Jokowi had asked me to have a meeting today to solve any pending issues," the minister added.

The Emirati delegation also conveyed the UAE government’s interest in investing in the development of Indonesia’s new national capital (IKN), Nusantara, in East Kalimantan province, he said.

Therefore, Pandjaitan informed that he will hold a meeting with Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono and National Development Planning Minister/head of the National Development Planning Board, Suharso Monoarfa, to discuss the Emirati government’s investment offer.

In addition to Al Mazrouei, the UAE delegation also included the UAE Ambassador to Indonesia, Abdulla Salem Obaid Salem Al Dhaheri, and chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company Group 42 Ltd., Peng Xiao.

Meanwhile, President Jokowi was accompanied by Pandjaitan, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, and Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE, Husin Bagis.  (Antaranews)