President Jokowi Invites Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed To Bali G20 Summit

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo invited Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), to be present as a guest at the G20 Summit in Bali in 2022 when Indonesia holds the G20 presidency.

This was stated by President Joko Widodo in a bilateral meeting with Prince MBZ which was held at the Al-Shatie Palace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, November 3.

"Next year's G20 summit will be held in Bali, October 30-31, 2022. I have planned to invite His Excellency as a guest of the Indonesian presidency next year. I really hope that Your Majesty will accept my invitation," said President Jokowi as quoted by Antara, Thursday. , November 4 in the morning.

In front of Prince MBZ, President Jokowi explained that the G20 Indonesia presidency in 2022 will carry the theme "Recover Together, Recover Stronger".

During the presidency, Indonesia will also pay attention to a number of issues, namely digitalization and energy transition to ensure the availability of affordable clean technology for all, inclusive finance especially for MSMEs, women and marginalized groups, as well as investment for a green and sustainable economy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu) Retno Marsudi in her statement at the Emirates Palace Hotel said that the Crown Prince welcomed President Joko Widodo's invitation.

"UAE will be one of the invited guests for the G20 Summit under the Indonesian presidency," said the Foreign Minister.

The Foreign Minister also explained that the meeting between the two leaders lasted quite a long time, around 2.5 hours. In addition to the G20 issue, the two leaders also discussed various issues including cooperation in the field of renewable energy, the construction of a new capital city, investment, and trade.

Another issue discussed by the two leaders was the travel corridor arrangement (TCA). Indonesia has had a TCA with PEA since 29 July 2020 which was one of the first TCAs that Indonesia had during the pandemic. According to the Foreign Minister, with the existence of vaccines and protection platforms, this TCA must be strengthened.

"Therefore, both parties have agreed to strengthen TCA by mutual recognition of vaccine certificates and also the integration of travel protection platforms," said the Foreign Minister.

President Jokowi and Crown Prince MBZ are also committed to strengthening cooperation and partnership in the construction of the new capital city. The two leaders agreed to follow up intensively in the form of meetings at the technical level.

"He directs to continue to be intensified specifically to discuss the construction of the new capital city," he explained.