REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana have left for Manila, the Philippines, to attend the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
The president and first lady departed aboard the presidential aircraft Republik Indonesia-I from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, eastern Jakarta, on Friday.
The president will highlight the achievements and challenges of the ASEAN that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.
Prior to the ASEAN Summit, President Jokowi will pay a state visit to the Philippines.
Jokowi will hold a bilateral meeting with his Filipino counterpart, President Duterte, to discuss economic cooperation as well as cooperation in other fields, such as agriculture, maritime, and transnational crimes.
Two memoranda of understanding will be signed in the agriculture sector for the exchange of researchers and the establishment of a joint working group.
In Davao, Mindanao, the southern Philippines, Jokowi and Duterte will inaugurate the opening of the roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) shipping route that connects Davao, General Santos, and Bitung in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The Ro-Ro project aims to boost connectivity between Indonesia and the Philippines and is part of the ASEAN connectivity program.
Statistics reveal that the trade volume between Indonesia and the Philippines had increased from US$4.6 billion in 2015 to $6.1 billion, or an increase of 32 percent.
Indonesia's main exports to the Philippines comprise coal, vehicles, coffee, and instant noodles.
Members of the presidential entourage include Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi.
From the Philippines, President Jokowi will head to Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, President Jokowi will shed light on better protection of Indonesian migrant workers there. Some 172 thousand Indonesians currently work in Hong Kong.
Besides this, the president expressed hope that economic cooperation with Hong Kong would increase. Hong Kong had invested $2.25 billion in Indonesia in 2016, an increase of 225 percent from $691 million in 2015.
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