Indonesian President Joko Widodo and First Lady Madam Iriana Widodo will pay a two-day state visit to Pakistan on January 26 to January 27, 2018, press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

The business fraternity of the friendly nation will accompany the president of Indonesia so that bilateral trade can be discussed. “President Widodo will be accompanied by Ministers and a large business delegation,” the foreign office said.

This will be the first visit of President Widodo to Pakistan. In 2012, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Pakistan to attend D-8 Summit. President Mamnoon Hussain participated in the Extraordinary Summit of OIC on Palestine and Al Quds Shareef in Jakarta in March 2016.

President Mamnoon Hussain will hold a State banquet for the visiting dignitary. President Widodo will also address a Joint Session of the Parliament.

President Widodo will also have talks with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. His visit will contribute towards strengthening existing fraternal ties between the two countries.

It was told that Pakistan and Indonesia enjoy close historical and cordial relations. Indonesia is the 8th largest trading partner of Pakistan and the largest trading partner in the ASEAN region.

Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Indonesia stands around US$ 2.1 billion annually. Pakistan is one of the largest importers of Indonesian palm oil. Bilateral trade is expected to grow manifold with grant of duty free access to 20 tariff lines from Pakistan for export to Indonesia under the ambit of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).

During recent years, bilateral political, parliamentary, economic, defence and people to people contacts have seen a substantial increase.