Jokowi Visits Subcontinent to Boost Relations With South Asian Countries
Jakarta. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will begin his trip to five South Asian countries this week, and will also visit refugee camps in Bangladesh, the Cabinet Secretariat said in a statement on Monday (22/01).
Jokowi will visit Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on Jan. 24-29.
"The visits to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be focused on economic and trade cooperation," the statement said.
Humanitarian and peace diplomacy will be part of the president's visits to Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi's visit to Kabul in November last year was the first of a high ranking official since former President Sukarno's visit in 1961.
In April, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani came to Jakarta.
In Bangladesh, apart from the official side of the visit, Jokowi is scheduled to see refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, inhabited by the Rohingya who fled violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State.
More than 650,000 people left Myanmar since the outbreak of violence in August. The refugee camps in Bangladesh are already overcrowded and offer extremely poor conditions.
The official trip is also part of an effort to support this year's foreign policy priorities, Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said, as quoted in the statement.
While Indonesia aims to contribute to the development of the regional architecture of the Indo-Pacific region, the government also wants to open new trade opportunities with South Asian countries, particularly Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
During his visit to India, Jokowi will attend the Asean-India Commemorative Summit and India's Republic Day Parade.
Preceding the president's visit, Chief Security Minister Wiranto went to New Delhi in early January to hold with his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, the first bilateral security dialogue.
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