Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived today on a two-day official visit to Malaysia.
The special plane carrying the president, popularly often called Jokowi, and his wife Iriana Joko Widodo, arrived from Bali and landed at KL International Airport (KLIA) at 7:50 p.m.
Defense Minister Mohamad Sabu welcomed Jokowi on the Bunga Raya complex. Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Rusdi Kirana was also present.
Jokowi and his wife were wearing traditional burgundy Balinese costumes.
This is Jokowi’s first official foreign visit after being re-elected for a second term within the April 17 presidential elections.
The visit is anticipated to strengthen the present strong bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia.
According to NamedAn official welcoming ceremony might be held tomorrow morning at Perdana Square in Putrajaya, after which Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will meet Jokowi to debate bilateral issues and cooperation, in addition to exchange views on regional issues and international problems with mutual interest.
Indonesian economist Dr Mahbubi Ali said Jakarta should leverage Malaysia’s expertise in Islamic banking for mutual profit.
The director of economics, finance, awqaf and zakat, who can be an associate fellow on the Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia, said each administrations rarely highlight this aspect but it’s important to advertise expertise as a reference for others Islamists from countries comparable to the Middle East.
“Maybe economically we need to move forward as a region and jointly create a regional center to make ASEAN a respected region, just like the European Union. This will strengthen the position of ASEAN and Asia in the context of Islamic finance. Malaysia and Indonesia can start working together to start this move,” he said Named.
