I look forward to welcoming His Excellency Mr Joko Widodo, President of the Republic Indonesia, and Her Excellency Mrs Hj Iriana Joko Widodo, to Australia from 25–26 February.
The visit will highlight Australia’s deepening economic and strategic links with Indonesia. The bilateral relationship with Indonesia is vitally important to both countries and has never been stronger.
As close friends and neighbours, Australia and Indonesia have a long, shared history. And as multicultural democracies, our countries have developed a strong 21st century partnership spanning broad areas of cooperation, including trade, tourism, counter-terrorism, education and disaster relief.
During this visit, President Widodo and I will hold our Annual Leaders’ Meeting as we continue to further strengthen the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
Identifying opportunities for expanding our economic, investment and commercial relationship will be a focus of our discussions, including our commitment to concluding a high-quality Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement later this year. This Agreement will benefit Indonesians and Australians alike, generating jobs, promoting business and boosting investment.
Indonesia is also one of Australia’s most valued counter-terrorism partners. Our practical cooperation makes our communities safer and our region more secure.
I look forward to my talks with President Widodo and returning the warm hospitality I enjoyed during my visit to Jakarta in 2015.