President Joko Widodo Receives Official Visit From Czech PM Petr Fiala

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (right) runs with Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala in the back yard of Bogor/ANTARA Presidential Palace

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received an official visit from the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Tuesday, April 18. PM Fiala arrived at the Bogor Palace at around 16.10 WIB accompanied by troops riding. The arrival of PM Fiala's motorcade and the Czech delegation in the Bogor Palace area was greeted by traditional dress troops and the marketing band of the Presidential Security Forces (Paspampres). The Czech PM was then greeted at the courtyard of the Bogorsidenan Palace by President Jokowi to listen to the national anthems of the two countries. Furthermore, President Jokowi introduced PM Fiala to a number of ministers of the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet who were present to accompany the welcoming procession, namely Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi, Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga, and Indonesian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Kenssy D. Ekaningsih along with a number of Czech delegates. President Jokowi then invited PM Fiala to fill out the guest book of the Bogor Presidential Palace and enter the Veranda Room, before carrying out a procession of planting tree seedlings together in the back yard of the Bogor Palace and continuing a number of bilateral meeting agendas. PM Fiala's official visit was a follow-up to a bilateral meeting held with President Jokowi in Brussels, Belgium, on December 14, 2022. At that time, the two heads of state discussed several issues of cooperation in the fields of economics, defense and strategic industries, as well as the Indo-Pacific region. At that time, President Jokowi expressed the importance of accelerating the completion of the Indonesia-EU European Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU CEPA) and the realization of the Czech investment plan in Indonesia. President Jokowi also appreciated the Czech participation in the 2022 Indo-Defense exhibition while conveying the importance of increasing defense and strategic industry cooperation through joint production, technology transfer, and manufacturing investment. In addition, the President also invited Czech participation in the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Infrastructure Forum (AIPIF) which is planned to be held in Indonesia on September 6-7, 2023.