"That is be a business-to-business relation. I think the MoU is still in a very early process," President Jokowi said.
Manila, Philippines (ANTARA News) - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stressed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for electric car production with Malaysian automotive company Proton is a business-to-business relation.

"That is be a business-to-business relation. I think the MoU is still in a very early process," President Jokowi said before visiting Rizal Memorial Park in Manila, the Philippines, on Monday.

When asked about the possibilities of cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia to develop an electric car, the President stated it needed some feasibility studies.

President Jokowi added that the MoU for electric car development emerged after he met with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and Prime Minister Najib Razak following an invitation from them.

"I was invited, so I went. But this (the MoU) is still in very early stages," he added.

Jokowi emphasized that Indonesia was open to do business and investments with all countries.

"We are open to all countries; whether it is Malaysia or Korea, we welcome them all. Even Japan, which has many investments in Indonesia, wants to expand their businesses here. The more the merrier, we need more investments," he pointed out.

President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo arrived in Manila on Monday after visiting Brunei Darussalam on Feb 6-7 and Malaysia on Feb 5-6.

Coordinating Minister of Economics Sofyan Djalil, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, Work Force Minister Hanif Dhakiri, and Head of the National Agency of Indonesian Workers Placement and Protection Nusron Wahid accompanied President Jokowi on the visit.

According to Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, President Jokowis visit to the three countries will start a series of presidential calls to ASEAN member countries as that has been a tradition for new governments in the Southeast Asian region.

The visits to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Philippines were aimed at discussing issues concerning Indonesian nationals overseas, besides the economic and investment fields.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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