Saudi Arabia's King Salman (L) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo during their meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace (Photo:Reuters) Jakarta (VNA) – Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who is visiting Indonesia, held talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at Bogor Palace in Jakarta and witnessed the signing of a range of cooperation deals on March 1.
At the meeting, President Widodo said that Saudi Arabia is one of Indonesia’s most important partners in the Middle East.
He also expressed his hope that Indonesia will become a strategic partner of Saudi Arabia through stronger economic links.
After the talks, both leaders oversaw the signing of 11 cooperation memoranda in areas ranging from commerce to crime fighting, including a pact between state energy companies Saudi Aramco and Pertamina, building on an existing $6 billion plan to expand Indonesia’s biggest refinery.
During his visit to Indonesia from March 1 – 9, King Salman will deliver a speech at parliament, visit Southeast Asia’s biggest mosque, Istiglal, in Jakarta before a brief trip to Brunei and then an extended break on the Indonesian island of Bali.
It is the first trip of a Saudi Arabian King to the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country in almost half a century.
Before Indonesia, Saudi Arabia’s King visited Malaysia and will next visit Japan, China and the Maldives.-VNA
