Remarks by the Vice President Prior to a Meeting with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia

PRESIDENT WIDODO: Her Excellency, Vice President Kamala Harris, firstly I offer my condolences regarding the wildfire disaster in Maui, Hawaii. I hope the missing victims can be found and the affected families can recover and -- as soon as possible.

Excellency, as a comprehensive strategic partner, the U.S. support is (inaudible) for the success of the ASEAN Summit, including ensuring the relevance of the -- this ASEAN Summit.

Moreover, I also would like to discuss the strengthening of bilateral cooperation. But before, I invite Vice President Harris to deliver your opening remark.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. President. It is good to see you again. And thank you for the warm welcome to Jakarta, Mr. President.

We last saw each other in Bangkok last November at the APEC Leaders Meeting. And before that, it was my pleasure to join President Joe Biden in hosting you at the historic U.S.-ASEAN Summit -- Special Summit in Washington, D.C., last May.

I thank you for your leadership of ASEAN 2023. You have made it a priority for ASEAN to deliver concrete results with a particular emphasis on economic growth. And you have been a strong partner as we work to restore Myanmar's path to democracy.

Today, we will continue in the important bilateral relationship that we will strengthen as we work together and as we reinforce the conversations that you have had with President Biden, most recently in Bali.

Indonesia is an important partner and friend to the United States. We have a longstanding friendship and relationship, which has helped promote both prosperity and security for our nations and a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Mr. President, there is an impressive amount of work underway between our nations as we share a desire to continue to strengthen our ties.

You have made economic growth a priority, which we appreciate, and it is a priority we share.

To that end, last year, we launched the Just Energy Transition Partnership -- a $20 billion infrastructure initiative, which will reduce global emissions, accelerate the transition to clean energy, support broad-based economic growth, and help American companies here in Indonesia.

We also launched a $698 million Mille- -- Millennium Challenge compact, which will help build sustainable infrastructure and further strengthen our economic relationship.

Moving forward, we also look forward to working with you to increase the flow of goods and services between our nations, including through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

We will also continue to work with Indonesia to build resilient supply chains, including for the critical minerals required to expand our clean energy economies.

And we will support your efforts to expand Indonesia's digital economy.

On the issue of security, we are proud to expand our defense partnership, to support your Maritime Security Agency, and to stand with you in defense of international rules-based order.

In conclusion, Mr. President, the United States is proud of our strong and growing ties. As two of the world's largest democracies, I'm confident our partnership will only grow stronger in the years and decades to come.

I thank you for the welcome.

PRESIDENT WIDODO: Thank you.