Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is slated for a three-nation trip to Asia’s largest economies from July 26-28, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Thursday.

His trip will begin in Beijing where Jokowi will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the latter’s invitation.

From Beijing, Jokowi will continue his trip to Tokyo for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, then to Seoul where he will be received by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the last day.

“The three countries are Indonesia’s strategic partners in the economic sector,” Retno said in a media statement.

“The focus of the upcoming meetings is to strengthen economic cooperation, especially in trade and investment,” she said.

Jokowi will become the first state leader to be received by President Xi since the Covid-19 pandemic began, apart from the Beijing Winter Olympics when several heads of state also visited the Chinese capital, Retno said.

“China is Indonesia’s biggest trading partner with the value of mutual trades amounting to $110 billion in 2021. China is also our third-largest investor with a total investment of $3.2 billion last year,” she added.

In Tokyo, the Indonesian president will meet Kishida and a group of prominent businessmen on July 27.

“Japan is our long-time economic partner. Last year’s bilateral trade reached more than $32 billion, while Japan’s investment totaled $2.26 billion,” Retno said.

Jokowi will also meet top business leaders in Seoul after his meeting with Yoon Suk-yeol.

Retno said Indonesia-South Korea bilateral trade was valued at $18.41 billion while Korean investment totaled $1.64 billion last year.

“Apart from bilateral cooperation, the president and the leaders of the three countries will discuss the latest development of regional and international issues,” she said.