JAKARTA, Oct 22 (The African Portal) – President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, for a State Visit to the Southeast Asian country.
The State Visit will kick off President Ramaphosa’s three-nation visit to the region, which will also include a State Visit to Vietnam and a working visit to Malaysia.
“[Today] President Ramaphosa commences in Indonesia with a State Visit at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto.
President Ramaphosa will observe the Welcome Ceremony at the Merdeka Presidential Palace in Jarkata. The two leaders will hold a tête-à-tête, priming the subsequent official bilateral talks with respective ministerial delegations in support.
“President Ramaphosa will deliver opening remarks at the bilateral talks to encapsulate relations with Indonesia and further strengthen cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, tourism and defence. This engagement aims to diversify trade in the face of global dynamics,” the Presidency said in a statement.
The two leaders are expected to hold a joint media briefing after the official bilateral talks.
A South Africa-Indonesia Business Forum was held before the President’s State Visit in a bid to strengthen trade between the two countries.
“Indonesia is the third largest trading partner of South Africa in the Southeast Asia region. President Ramaphosa will, on the margins of the State Visit, connect with leading Indonesian business leaders to expand trade and investment.
“Both countries continue playing leading roles in developing and enhancing South-South Cooperation and continue to be locomotives of South-South Cooperation. Contemporarily, they are Member States of BRICS,” the Presidency said.
The relationship between the two countries dates back hundreds of years.
“SA-Indonesia relations go back more than 350 years – when the first people of Indonesian descent arrived in the Cape in the mid-1600s.
“Starting with the Bandung Conference of 1955, Indonesia became one of the fiercest critics of apartheid and supported the anti-apartheid struggle throughout. Formal diplomatic relations between Indonesia and SA were established in 1994,” the Presidency said.
Credit: SAnews.gov.za
