Jokowi To Have Bilateral Meetings With Lao, Vietnamese Leaders

Palm Springs, California (Antara Bali) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), during his visit to the US to attend the US-ASEAN Summit, will have bilateral meetings with Lao President Choummaly Sayasone and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

"Those meetings will be held at Miramonte Resort in the morning," Presidential Communication Team Ari Dwipayana said here on Monday.

After the bilateral encounters, president will be attending the US-ASEAN Summit being held at the Interactive Gallery, Sunnylands Center and Gardens at 3 pm local time.

President Jokowi will be greeted by the US President Barack Obama.

The first meeting, being held under the theme of 'Promoting an Innovative, Entrepreneurial ASEAN Economic Community', will be attended by the heads of state or governments of the ASEAN region.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi had earlier explained that leaders at the retreat would discuss issues related to small and medium enterprises (SME), information and communication technology (ICT), digital economy and other relevant topics.

Towards the concluding part of the discussion, three CEOs from IBM, Microsoft, and Cisco, will be joining along with President Obama.

In the first meeting, President Joko Widodo will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Trade Minister Thomas Lembong, Head of the Presidential Staff Teten Masduki, and Permanent Representative of Indonesia to ASEAN Rahmat Pramono.

In the evening, President Jokowi and other heads of states or governments will together at a working dinner at the Sunnylands Historic House for an open discussion on regional strategic outlook.

In his press statement issued shortly before leaving Jakarta, the president stated that Indonesia would discuss issues under the theme, "Partnership for Peace and Prosperity."

According to him, both ASEAN and the US have an obligation to usher in peace and stability in various regions and the entire world.

 "The US-ASEAN partnership must lead to balanced benefits and welfare for the ASEAN and the US people," he affirmed.

Towards that end, Indonesia would encourage economic cooperation in the field of micro, small, and medium businesses, as well as the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, including the development of the digital economy in the ASEAN region.

President Jokowi was open to exchange ideas with other ASEAN and US leaders to discuss and create peace in both regions. (WDY)