President Jokowi Marathon Visit To East Asia Next Week: Meet President Xi Jinping, Yoon Suk-yeol And Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

President Joko Widodo (Screenshot of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs YouTube channel)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, said President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) would make a three-day visit to three countries, starting with Beijing China on July 26, followed by Tokyo Japan on July 27 and finally to Seoul, South Korea on July 28.

In her statement, Foreign Minister Retno said the three countries are Indonesia's strategic partners in the economic sector, as well as strategic partners of Indonesia and ASEAN related to the discussion of regional issues.

"The focus of the visit is to discuss strengthening economic cooperation, particularly in the fields of trade and investment. In China, the President is planning to meet with Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping", Minister Retno explained in a virtual press statement Thursday, July 21.

She explained that the President of the Republic of Indonesia was one of the first leaders received by President Xi Jinping during this pandemic, outside the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"China is Indonesia's largest trading partner with a total trade value of US$110 billion in 2021. As for investment, China is the third largest investor with a total investment value of around US$3.2 billion in 2021", explained Foreign Minister Retno.

After leaving China, President Jokowi is scheduled to fly directly to Japan the next day, planning to hold a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and businesspeople from the Land of the Rising Sun.

"Japan is our traditional economic partner. Bilateral trade last year reached more than US$32 billion, Meanwhile, Japanese investment in Indonesia reached US$2.26 billion last year", said Minister Retno.

Closing his visit to East Asia, President Jokowi is scheduled to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and businessmen from the Ginseng Country on July 28.

It is known, that South Korea is an important partner of Indonesia in the economic field. The value of trade between the two countries last year reached US$18.41 billion. Meanwhile, South Korean investment in Indonesia continues to grow rapidly, and by 2021 it will reach US$1.64 billion.

"In addition to discussing strengthening bilateral cooperation, the President and the leaders of the three countries, of course, in their respective bilateral meetings, will discuss the latest developments on several regional and international issues", she concluded.