President Joko Widodo Leaves for Asean-US Summit in California

President Joko Widodo and the first lady Iriana Widodo left for the United States on Sunday (14/02) to attend the two-day Asean-US Summit in Sunnylands, California, which kicks off on Monday.

The pair along with their entourage departed from the Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in East Jakarta at 8:30 a.m. “To Indonesia, the relationship between the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and the United States must be regarded as a partnership to create [global] welfare and peace,” Joko said during a press statement at the VVIP room of the airport on Sunday.

In order to do this, according to the president, Indonesia will improve its economic equality, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, by improving cooperation in entrepreneurship, innovation and the digital economy.

“As for peace and regional security [issues], I will brainstorm with the other Asean and US leaders. I will also use the opportunity to share my experience [in leading] a country with the most Muslim population in the world, [particularly] in establishing [interfaith] tolerance and preventing radicalization, as well as eradicating terrorism,” Joko continued.

The president added that public involvement was needed to fight against terrorism, and social media platforms could be used as a means to reach the country's goal. As Barack Obama's presidency will soon be over, the Asean-US Summit is held to express the United States' views on Asean countries.