INDONESIA, AUSTRALIA FOSTER ECONOMIC TIES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 17 (Antara) - Indonesia and Australia continued to foster their economic ties in the face of shifting of the economic center from the Atlantic to the Pacific region.           Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), who is on a visit to Sydney to attend the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2018, used the opportunity to have a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday.          On the sidelines of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, the Indonesian president addressed a CEO forum at the International Convention Center, Sydney, which was also attended by Turnbull.         At the bilateral meeting, Jokowi and Turnbull discussed the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA). The last negotiation on IA-CEPA was conducted on March 6 and 7.         "There is progress, but it has not yet been fully achieved; the final result of the negotiations should ensure benefits for the two countries not only from the commercial aspect but also with emphasis on partnership and cooperation," Jokowi remarked.

INDONESIA, AUSTRALIA INCREASE BUSINESS COOPERATION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 25 (Antara) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is on a two-day state visit to Australia to increase business relations between the two countries.          Jokowi and his entourage landed at the Kingsford-Smith Airport in Sydney at 6:57 a.m. local time, or 2:57 a.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB) on Saturday, after a nearly six-hour flight from Denpasar, Bali.          According to the Press, Media and Information Bureau Chief of the Presidential Secretariat, Bey Machmudin, the main agenda of Jokowi's visit was to increase relations between both nations.         According to the agenda, the president on the first day of his visit was to receive the Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, who paid a courtesy call on him, and to hold a meeting with the Australian business circles.          "Indonesia's investment rating has shown progress," Jokowi remarked during the meeting with the chief executive officers of Australian companies at the Shangri-La Hotel.         The president pointed out that the confidence index in Indonesia had also shown a positive trend.          New South Wales (NSW) has an important meaning for Indonesia, because some 41,435 of the 68 thousand Indonesian citizens in Australia are staying in NSW.