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INDONESIA-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY
Saudi crown prince to visit Indonesia next week
JAKARTA, Feb 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Indonesia will host Saudi Arabian Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a state visit next week, Jakarta said
Thursday, part of an Asian tour that includes stops in Pakistan, India and
Malaysia.
His two-day visit to the world’s biggest Muslim majority country kicks off
Monday, the prince’s second official visit to the archipelago, but Jakarta
supplied few details about his itinerary.
“He will arrive in Indonesia on February 18, and meet the president on
February 19,” presidential spokesman Johan Budi told AFP.
The crown prince is scheduled to visit Pakistan and Malaysia before
arriving in Indonesia and then he heads to India.
Salman last visited Indonesia with his father King Salman in 2017 as part
of an Asian tour seeking investment opportunities.
At that time, Jakarta and Riyadh signed a range of agreements from trade
and aviation to boosting cooperation in science, health and fighting crime.
They also inked an agreement involving state-owned energy firms Aramco and
Indonesia’s Pertamina to expand a multi-billion-dollar oil refinery in the
Southeast Asian nation.
Next week’s trip comes as the crown prince continues to be tarnished by
his alleged links to the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The CIA has concluded the Saudi operation was likely directed by the
powerful crown prince, but the White House has sidestepped that finding amid
strenuous denials by Riyadh.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1207 hrs