VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews,Jakarta: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) arrived at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta on Thursday, at around 04:15 WIB, after making a state visit to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Under the plane's stairs, TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto and National Police Chief General Pol Listyo Sigit Prabowo were seen welcoming President Jokowi's arrival, according to a written statement from the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia.

Previously, President Jokowi departed from Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi at around 14:55 local time.

Appearing to see off the President's departure to Indonesia were, among others, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei, Indonesian Ambassador to the UAE Husin Bagis, and UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia Abdullah Salem Al Dhaheri.

On the flight to Jakarta, President Jokowi was accompanied by Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, and Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir.

Also attending were the Director General of Protocol and Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Head of State Protocol Andy Rachmianto, the President's Military Secretary Major General TNI Rudy Saladin, the Commander of the Paspampres Major General TNI Achiruddin, and the Deputy for Protocol, Press, and Media of the Presidential Secretariat M Yusuf Permana.

During his visit to Abu Dhabi, President Joko Widodo held a bilateral meeting with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) to enhance cooperation between the two countries, especially in the economic sector.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in her statement in Abu Dhabi explained that the UAE is one of Indonesia's important partners in the Middle East.

"In the past 10 years, relations between the two countries have developed rapidly. In terms of trade, for example, there has been a significant increase. Trade figures from 2015 to 2023 increased by 52 percent, and in 2023 reached 3.282 billion (US dollars)," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In terms of investment, a significant increase was also recorded. Foreign Minister Retno said that the achievements of relations in the past decade received attention from President Jokowi in bilateral meetings.

"This strong relationship will be capital for the future government to continue to strengthen cooperation between the two countries," said Retno.

In addition to holding plenary meetings, the two leaders also met tete-a-tete. Foreign Minister Retno explained that the discussion in the meeting focused on investment cooperation.

Some of the things that became the focus of the discussion included the plan for cooperation in developing a financial center in the Indonesian Capital City (IKN). This cooperation plan is accommodated in an MoU signed by the Minister of PUPR with the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC).

The second issue discussed in the tete-a-tete was cooperation in developing the nickel raw material industry. As is known, Indonesia has a very large stock of nickel.

Indonesia has also developed a nickel downstream ecosystem, especially batteries and electric vehicles ( EV ).

"In this regard, President Jokowi invited the UAE to invest in the EV sector from upstream to downstream," said Foreign Minister Retno.

Source: Antaranews