Wong (left) presenting Enggartiasto with a memento as Mustapa and others looked on.
KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is expected to hold a meeting with President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, or better known as Jokowi, in Kuching any time this year.
Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the meeting between the top leaders is to strengthen bilateral ties and in the spirit of ASEAN which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
The last meeting in Kuching between a Malaysian Prime Minister and Indonesian president was between Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono in January 2008.
“Najib and Jokowi, and other ministers from both countries, always hold bilateral meetings and discussions.
“God-willing, I was informed, there is big possibility of Najib and Jokowi to hold their meeting in Kuching any time soon,” he said at the welcoming dinner for Malaysian and Indonesian delegates to the Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC) meeting, Thursday night.
Also present at the dinner were Indonesia’s Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita and Sarawak’s Minister of International Trade and E-Commerce Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, who represented Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Mustapa also said the JTIC meeting, the third to be held so far, was held in Kuching for the first time.
“Usually, such meetings will be held at the capital cities, either Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta, but we want to do something different by holding it in Kuching so that you can learn about Sarawak better.
“There is so much similarities between Sarawak and Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, in terms of culture, economy and also diversity of ethnic groups,” he said.