Indonesia leader on state visit
A lone protester yelled as Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid his respects at the Pukeahu National War Memorial in Wellington yesterday.
The president is on a state visit to New Zealand to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Paying his respects at the tomb of the unknown soldier, Widodo was met by a protester repeatedly yelling ‘‘Free West Papua’’.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was urged to raise the issue of West Papua, which has been fighting for independence from Indonesia, in her meeting with Widodo yesterday afternoon. The pair were expected to talk trade.
Widodo was accompanied by ministers and a business delegation. Indonesia is a major market for New Zealand meat, dairy and agriculture exports, with total two-way goods trade of $1.76 billion in 2017. The country also has the world’s fourth-largest population, and is the largest economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Ardern first met Widodo at the East Asia Summit in November.
Widodo is often referred to as Jokowi, and has been described by some as ‘‘Indonesia’s Obama’’.
He comes from a middle-class background, with a forestry degree. He turned to politics in
2005, when he was elected mayor of Surakarta, a city in Java.
Since being elected president in
2014, Widodo has pursued an ambitious infrastructure overhaul. He also has also taken a hardline stance against drugs, which has included judicial executions.