THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has started an official visit to the Netherlands with a working breakfast with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the signing of two pacts intensifying cooperation between their countries.
Widodo's visit Friday is the first by a leader of the former Dutch colony since Abdurraham Wahid in 2000. In 2010, then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono canceled a visit at the last minute amid moves by a separatist group to have him arrested for alleged human rights violations.
Separatists from the Maluku region of Indonesia who have long lived in the Netherlands sought to speak with Widodo during his visit Friday, but said this week that the Dutch government had not responded to their request to set up a meeting.