President Joko Widodo’s well-documented fondness for bicycles has culminated in a quirky political moment during his first meeting as peers with Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Albanese is in Indonesia just two weeks into his new job, in a clear signal that his Labor administration is keen to start relations with Australia’s neighbors to the north on a right note.
Greeting Albanese at the Bogor Presidential Palace was Jokowi and a pair of bamboo bikes. Jackets off and helmets on, the pair rode around the lush gardens of the palace this morning.
After the ride, Albanese tweeted that he was honored by such a personal welcome by Jokowi.
Jokowi told reporters Albanese and him discussed strengthening bilateral relations between the two neighbors, as well as other global matters such as the Ukraine invasion and climate change.
Albanese will be in Indonesia until June 7. He and Jokowi are specifically expected to discuss strengthening both nations’ commitment to the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), with particular interest in boosting trade.
Though he was the first world leader to get the bike welcome from Jokowi, Albanese is not the first newly-elected Aussie PM to go on an unconventional trip with the Indonesian president.
In 2015, Jokowi took then-Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull to the bustling Tanah Abang textile market upon the latter’s arrival in Jakarta. The pair capped the moment with an iconic selfie.
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