President Jokowi Welcomes Singapore President at Bogor Palace

President Jokowi and President of Singapore Halimah inspect troops at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, Tuesday (04/02). (Photo: Jay/PR)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo welcomed President of Singapore Halimah Yacob in her four-day state visit to Indonesia at Bogor Presidential Palace on Tuesday (4/2).

“This is the first state visit of President Halimah to Indonesia,” President Jokowi said during the joint press statement.

For the record, President Halimah’s visit is at the invitation of President Jokowi, becoming the first state visit of Singapore President in eight years. Citing press release from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this visit will “reaffirm the wide-ranging, substantive and mutually-beneficial relationship between Singapore and Indonesia.”

According to President Jokowi, Indonesia and Singapore have always been close neighbors, therefore, both countries are committed to cooperating even more closely and to strengthening mutually beneficial relationships.

“Not only in economy but also people-to-people contact,” President Jokowi added.

During her visit to Indonesia, President Halimah is slated to receive ceremonial welcome at Bogor Palace, attend state banquet hosted by President Jokowi, meet Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and view an Industry 4.0 training program organized by the Singapore Polytechnic and the Indonesian Ministry of Industry.

She will also lay a wreath at Kalibata Heroes’ Cemetery and travel to Yogyakarta to attend several agenda.

Indonesia and Singapore share close trade and investment ties, with bilateral trade amounting to $65 billion in 2018 or increased by 9.4 per cent compared to that in previous year. Singapore was also Indonesia’s top investor for the last five years. (RSF/EN)

Translated by: Estu Widyamurti
Reviewed by: Lulu Wuliarti