Jakarta, Indonesianpost.com – Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana landed at Tianfu International Airport, Chengdu City, Sichuan, China, at 2:40 p.m. local time on Thursday for a working visit.
After a five-hour flight, the President and his entourage arrived at the airport in drizzling rain, according to a release from the Presidential Secretariat received here on Thursday.
Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun, and the embassy’s defense attaché in Beijing, Brigadier General Benny P. Nadeak, welcomed the President.
Chinese Minister of Education, Huai Jinpeng; the Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia, Lu Kang; and the Governor of Sichuan, Huangqiang, were also there to receive the President and First Lady.
A line of Chinese students welcomed the Indonesian President as he walked to the car that would take him to the hotel in Chengdu.
Several high officials have accompanied the President on the working visit, including Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Head of the Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN) Bambang Susantono.
During the visit, President Jokowi is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss steps to strengthen and enhance cooperation between the two countries.
“This morning I, together with the First Lady and a limited delegation, will make a working visit to Chengdu in China,” he said before his departure from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, on Thursday.
He informed that President Xi had invited him to China. His working visit will coincide with 10 years of the Indonesia-China comprehensive strategic partnership.
China is Indonesia’s largest trading and investment partner, Jokowi said.
In Chengdu, he and Xi will discuss a number of priority agendas, including investment, trade, health, various Indonesia-China strategic projects, as well as regional and global issues.
President Jokowi will also attend the opening of the FISU World University Games and motivate the Indonesian contingent to compete in the event.
He is expected to arrive back in Indonesia on Saturday (July 29, 2023).