Jokowi Enjoys Dinner With PM Albanese

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ended his second day of visit in Sydney, Australia, by having a dinner with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Kirizili House.

Arriving on the evening of Tuesday, July 4, at local time, President Jokowi and PM Albanese compactly wore Indonesian batik clothes, as quoted from a statement from the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat received in Jakarta.

PM Albanese then invited President Jokowi to enter his official residence. After that, President Jokowi signed a guest book and took a photo with PM Albanese.

After taking pictures, PM Albanese invited President Jokowi to the back terrace of the house to enjoy the Sydney night atmosphere. From where it stands, the two leaders of the country can see two icons of the City of Sydney, namely the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge during the night.

Furthermore, PM Albanese invited President Jokowi to drink tea together in the inside the house. While enjoying the warm drinks served, the two leaders of the country seemed to be dissolving in the casual conversation that night.

At 20.05 local time, President Jokowi left the Kirribilli House to return to the hotel where he spent the night.

At the Annual Leaders Meeting (ALM) between President Jokowi and PM Albanese at the Taronga Center, Sydney, Tuesday afternoon local time, Jokowi said the development of cooperation between Indonesia and Australia had developed well.

Jokowi said that there are a number of priority things that must be done by the two countries, the first is to make economic relations more substantive and strategic, among others, through joint development of electric vehicle car batteries.

Second, the Indonesia's Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) agreement will continue to be optimized to boost the trade volume of the two countries.

"This will continue to be optimized through mutual recognition of fishery products, quarantine and fruit inspection, as well as increasing MSME capacity," he said.

The third priority is related to reducing carbon emissions, and the fourth is Indonesia encouraging the private sector of Australia and the National Capital Authority of Australia to cooperate with the Archipelago Capital Authority (IKN) for the development of IKN.

Jokowi also considered that Indonesia and ASEAN wanted the Indo-Pacific region to become peaceful and stable areas, as well as to prioritize concrete collaboration and cooperation.

"I appreciate Australia's support for Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN, and invite Australia to strengthen partnerships in the South Pacific through trilateral cooperation, and participate in the ASEAN-Indo Pacific Forum," he said.