JAKARTA, Jan 9 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said his two-day official visit to Indonesia at the invitation of President Joko Widodo has met its objectives.
At the conclusion of the visit today, Anwar said various issues were addressed in his meeting with Joko Widodo at the Bogor Presidential Palace as well as joint discussions held with several Indonesian ministers.
Among them included matters involving the economy and bilateral investments, the development of Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, border demarcation issues that had dragged on for 60 years and the issue of Indonesian manpower in Malaysia.
“Alhamdulillah, the official visit to Indonesia at the invitation of the President of Indonesia achieved its original intent and purpose,” he told Malaysian reporters after delivering a public lecture, ‘Malaysia-Indonesia Strategic Relations: Challenges and Hopes’ at the CTCorp Leadership Forum here.
Anwar said many Indonesians were pained by reports of abuse and so on involving the country’s migrant workers although the numbers affected were very small.
“We have given our assurance that strict action by the authorities, especially by the Royal Malaysia Police, will be taken,” he said.
Anwar, who is known in Indonesia as a leader of political struggle and reforms, was also pleased to be able to meet many acquaintances, including religious, cultural and political figures as well as former ministers.
“This shows the friendship forged is not only at the top level but reaches down to the grassroots level as well,” he said.
Anwar said the Indonesian conglomerate involved in the financial, plantation and construction sectors owned by Chairul Tanjung will visit Malaysia in a few weeks to explore the services and information technology sectors.
In a session with businessmen, the prime minister assured investors about the changes taking place in Malaysia, including the ease of doing business and the fast pace of investment approvals.
Anwar and his delegation departed for Malaysia after completing his first official visit abroad since being appointed Prime Minister on Nov 24 from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 6.30pm local time (7.30pm Malaysia time).
During the visit, Anwar started the tradition of wearing a songkok for certain events to uphold the country’s culture, and along with Joko Widodo at the Bogor Presidential Palace, also witnessed the handover of 11 letters of intent (LOIs) involving 10 Malaysian companies that planned to participate in the development of Nusantara. — Bernama
