Published : Nov. 9, 2017 - 09:35
JAKARTA -- The leaders of South Korea and Indonesia were set to hold their bilateral summit Thursday with their discussions expected to focus on ways to improve cooperation and joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea.
The summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Indonesian President Joko Widodo was set to begin later in the day, marking the first of its kind.
Moon arrived here Wednesday on a three-day state visit that marked his first-ever state visit to a foreign state since taking office in May.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook wave after arriving in Jakarta, Indonesia on Nov. 8, 2017, on a three-day state visit. (Yonhap)
The South Korean leader will begin his second day with a trip to the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery that houses the resting places of Indonesia's independence fighters and national leaders.
He will then attend a business roundtable, involving about a dozen government officials and top business leaders from each country. The meeting will be followed by a business forum that will be attended by some 350 officials and business leaders from both countries, according to officials from the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
An official welcome ceremony is scheduled for later in the day at Istana Bogor, one of six presidential palaces of Indonesia.
Moon and Widodo will first hold a brief one-on-one meeting, followed by an expanded summit that will involve top government officials from both sides.
The leaders are widely expected to seek ways to further enhance their countries' bilateral relationship, especially in the economic, trade and defense sectors.
Indonesia is a major trading partner of South Korea and one of the largest importers of South Korean military equipment in Asia, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials.
Moon's visit to Jakarta will end Friday when he will head to Da Nang, Vietnam for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
The South Korean leader is on a three-nation tour that will later take him to Manila, the Philippines for the East Asia Summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forums that will involve his Indonesian counterpart and the leaders of nine other ASEAN member states. (Yonhap)