Jakarta – A US Congress delegation met with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Saturday at the State Palace in Jakarta, calling for stronger economic ties between Indonesia and the US.
The Congress delegation led by Senator Vern Buchanan from Florida arrived in Indonesia ahead of the celebration of the 70th Indonesian Independence Day on Monday.
Among senators in the US Congress delegation are Adrian Smith from Nebraska, David Price from North Carolina, Dina Titus from Nevada, Jim McDermott from Washington and Susan Davis from California.
During the meeting, the delegation congratulated Jokowi for the efforts the Indonesian government had made in the economic and governance fields.
"The Congress members also praised Indonesia as a model of democracy and religious tolerance and called on the country to share its experience with the world," the US Embassy said in a statement on Saturday.
It further said that during the meeting, the delegation members were also sounding out the possibility of increasing US-Indonesia partnerships, especially efforts to strengthen trade and investment between the two countries.
"The US Congress delegation also congratulated President Jokowi over the upcoming celebration of the 70th anniversary of Indonesia Independence Day. The delegation warmly welcomed the planned visit of President Jokowi to the US later this year," said the embassy.
Earlier, the US delegation was engaged in a productive discussion on economic, security and government issues in its meeting with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Presidential of Chief of Staff Luhut Panjaitan.
On Sunday, the US delegation is scheduled to meet with House of Representatives leaders as part of its efforts to strengthen relations between legislative councils in the two countries. The delegation members are also scheduled to attend a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate Indonesian Independence Day on Aug. 17 at the State Palace on Monday.
The delegation members are leaders of the US House Democracy Partnership, a bipartisan commission at the US House of Representatives that has built a relationship with the Indonesian House of Representatives since 2006.
"This is the sixth US House Democracy Partnership visit to Indonesia and there is no country that has received such frequent visits from this Congress delegation, except Indonesia," said the US Embassy.
Two Congress members, Buchanan and McDermott, who head the Indonesian Caucus at the US House of Representatives, have visited Indonesia several times over the last 10 years. (ebf)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/16/congress-calls-stronger-us-ri-economic-ties.html