President Jokowi, Chinese Foreign Minister Discuss Bilateral Economic Cooperation, Middle East Issues

President Jokowi welcomes Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Thursday (04/18) (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Vico)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Thursday (04/18) received a courtesy call from Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi.

According to Retno, President Jokowi highlighted three main points as follows.

First, bilateral economic cooperation. The President underscored the importance of achieving a more balanced increase in trade volume between Indonesia and China. Indonesia also called on China to open more access to Indonesia’s agriculture and fisheries products.

In addition to the trade sector, the development cooperation of the Nusantara Capital was also discussed.

Minister Retno added, “President Jokowi encouraged the implementation of strategic projects at the North Kalimantan Industrial Zone, especially investment in the petrochemical industry.”

Second, food security. President Jokowi stressed the importance of strengthening agricultural cooperation between the two countries while underlining that Indonesia must learn China’s agricultural modeling.

Third, the Middle East issues. President Jokowi said that no parties want escalation in the Middle East. Thus, Indonesia continues to make diplomatic moves by communicating with various parties, including Iran and the United States.

Related to the Middle East issues, Indonesia also called on key countries for maximum restraint, de-escalation, and escalation avoidance.

“The President also expressed his belief that China will use its influence to prevent escalation in the Middle East,” Retno said.

Furthermore, China emphasized support for Palestinian independence through a two-state solution and agreed that stability in the Middle East will come through a two-state solution. Indonesia and China also shared the same position in supporting full Palestinian membership in the UN.

“Once again, Indonesia and China share the same position in supporting full Palestinian membership in the UN,” she remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/AIT) (AP/LW)