President Jokowi Returns to Jakarta After European Tour

Jakarta, (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) arrived back in Jakarta on Saturday evening after concluding his tour of Europe that began last Sunday.

President Jokowi, who flew back to the country onboard the Special Presidential Plane Indonesia-I, arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport at 4:47 local time.

President Jokowi's plane had taken off from the Abu Dhabi International Airport of the United Arab Emirate at 8:30 Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB). Abu Dhabi time is three hours behind the Jakarta time.

During his tour of Europe, Jokowi visited Germany, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Accompanying the president were Chief Economic Minister Darmin Nasution, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Aung and Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chief Franky Sibarani.

Upon his arrival, President Jokowi stated that his official visits to European countries have yielded business-to-business agreements worth US$20.5 billion.

"There have been two outcomes of these visits. The first is the trust that all businessmen in the European countries and European Union reposed in the economy of Indonesia," Jokowi stated here in a press conference after a tour of Europe, at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport on Saturday afternoon.

The second outcome, the president pointed out, was the trust that European countries expressed in the role that Indonesia has been playing in establishing peace through advocacy of moderate Islam.

Indonesia's policies of economic deregulation were also appreciated by a number of European countries, he remarked.

During his visit, the president and his entourage made a number of commitments and underscored the need to establish cooperation with many countries, including cooperation between Indonesia and Germany, focusing on education and vocational training schools.

"Vocational schools and vocational training are aimed at creating skilled manpower in accordance with the needs of the market and global competition," the president stated.

Indonesia and the United Kingdom also reinforced their cooperation in the field of creative economy and industries.(*)