Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – United States President Joe Biden invited President Joko Widodo, usually known as Jokowi, to visit Washington this November, the White House said in a written statement last weekend.
Biden and Jokowi met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, last weekend. During the meeting, Biden congratulated President Jokowi for his leadership when Indonesia chaired ASEAN this year.
“President Biden looks forward to President Jokowi’s arrival in Washington for a bilateral meeting at the White House this November, and also looks forward to President Jokowi’s arrival in San Francisco at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting,” said the White House.
Biden was absent from the 2023 ASEAN Summit in Jakarta last week, and sent Vice President Kamala Harris to attend the three-day forum.
The United States is one of ASEAN’s dialogue partners, along with China, India, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
The US will chair the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week on November 15-17 in San Francisco, California.
APEC is a cooperation forum between Pacific Ocean rim economies which was founded in 1989. APEC aims to encourage economic growth and improve the welfare of the Asia Pacific, one of which is by facilitating freer and more open trade and investment.
APEC has 21 member countries and territories, including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand , US, and Vietnam.
The 21 APEC members account for 40 percent of the global population and almost 50 percent of total global trade. (mhn/bbs)
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