President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has concluded his state visit to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). He arrived at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta at around 4:05 AM Western Indonesia Time, greeted by Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces General Agus Subiyanto and National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo. 

Previously, President Jokowi departed from Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi at around 2:55 PM local time. His departure back to Indonesia was seen off by UAE's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei, Indonesian Ambassador to UAE Husin Bagis, and UAE Ambassador to Indonesia Abdullah Salem Al Dhaheri. 

During the flight to Jakarta, President Jokowi was accompanied by State Secretary Pratikno, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir. 

During his visit to Abu Dhabi, President Joko Widodo held bilateral meetings with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) to enhance cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the economic sector. Retno Marsudi, in her statement in Abu Dhabi, explained that UAE is one of Indonesia's important partners in the Middle East. 

According to Retno, over the past 10 years, the relationship between the two countries has developed rapidly. There has been a significant increase in trade. 

"Trade figures from 2015 to 2023 have increased by 52%, and in 2023 it reached 3.282 billion USD," said the Foreign Minister. 

In terms of investment, there has also been a significant increase. Foreign Minister Retno mentioned that the achievements in relations over the past decade received attention from President Jokowi in the bilateral meeting. 

"This strong relationship will serve as a foundation for future governments to continue strengthening cooperation between the two countries," said Retno. In addition to holding plenary meetings, the two leaders also met tete-a-tete. Foreign Minister Retno explained that the discussions in the meeting focused on investment cooperation. 

Several topics discussed included plans for cooperation in building a financial center in the new capital city of Nusantara (IKN). This cooperation plan is outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Minister of Public Works and Housing with the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). 

The second issue discussed in the tete-a-tete was cooperation in the development of the nickel raw material industry. Indonesia is a country with very large nickel reserves and has developed a downstream nickel ecosystem, especially for batteries and electric vehicles (EV). 

"In this context, President Jokowi invited UAE to invest in the EV sector from upstream to downstream," said Foreign Minister Retno. 

This content is published in partnership with Katadata 

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