Yahoo – AFP,
Dessy Sagita, March 1, 2017
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| Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz (L) held talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo (R) in Bogor, West Java, on March 1, 2017 |
Indonesia
and Saudi Arabia Wednesday signed agreements in areas ranging from trade to
aviation as the kingdom's monarch visited the world's most populous
Muslim-majority country for the first time in almost half a century.
King Salman
was treated to an elaborate official welcome as he arrived in Jakarta, his
latest stop on an Asian tour seeking investment opportunities, at the head of a
1,000-strong delegation including princes and ministers.
After
disembarking from his plane, he was met by President Joko Widodo before
travelling past cheering crowds in pouring rain to a presidential palace at
Bogor south of Jakarta, where he was greeted by a marching band, a mounted
honour guard and a 21-gun salute.
Almost 460
tons of equipment have been flown in for the visit, including limousines and
escalators.
Preparations
have been elaborate. Naked statues at the Bogor palace were covered up before
Salman's arrival. Some 150 chefs have reportedly been hired to cook for the
king's party and a VIP toilet has been constructed at a mosque he will visit.
Widodo hailed
the "historic" visit, adding: "As the country with the biggest
Muslim population in the world, Indonesia will always have a special bond with
Saudi Arabia."
The leaders
oversaw the signing of 11 cooperation memoranda following Wednesday's talks at
the Bogor palace. Apart from trade and aviation, they included agreements on
boosting cooperation in science, health and fighting crime.
Jakarta and Riyadh also inked an agreement that builds on an existing $6 billion deal between state-owned energy firms Aramco and Pertamina to expand an Indonesian oil refinery.
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Indonesia's
President Joko Widodo (centre L) welcomes Saudi Arabia's King
Salman bin Abdul
Aziz (centre R) at Halim airport in Jakarta on March 1, 2017
|
Jakarta and Riyadh also inked an agreement that builds on an existing $6 billion deal between state-owned energy firms Aramco and Pertamina to expand an Indonesian oil refinery.
Salman, 81,
said he hoped the visit would "contribute to the improvement of the
bilateral relationship between our two countries".
The visit
-- the first by a Saudi Arabian king to Indonesia for 47 years -- is one of the
highlights of a rare Saudi royal tour of Asia, a region seeking investment as
the world's biggest oil exporter tries to diversify its economy.
After the
three-day visit to Jakarta, Salman and his entourage will head to the Hindu-majority
resort island of Bali for a holiday, where they will reportedly stay in five
luxury hotels.
On Thursday
the king is due to give a speech to parliament and visit a major Jakarta
mosque. He is also due to meet leaders of some of Indonesia's major Muslim
organisations during the trip.
Salman
began his three-week Asian tour in Malaysia earlier this week and is also set
to visit Japan, China and the Maldives.
Saudi king on first visit to Indonesia in almost 50 years arrives with entourage of 1,000 and 460 tons of gear https://t.co/XbA4l1cGUY pic.twitter.com/N9NvKJKEDV— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 1, 2017
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360 vehicles and 2,500 police personnel deployed as Bali gears up for Saudi king's extravagant visit https://t.co/GEZij3NsjF pic.twitter.com/OUEa6mJ68T— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 3, 2017