President Prabowo to receive Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday

  Indonesian President Prabowo will receive Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday afternoon as confirmed by Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.

"Yesterday morning, the Singaporean FM very suddenly visited Indonesia and later requested a time to meet Mr. President," Wijaya said in his remarks to reporters 

In response, President Prabowo is willing to spare a time to receive Minister Balakrishnan on Wednesday afternoon, Wijaya stated while requesting reporters to confirm the details of the meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir.

Wijaya said the President's willingness to receive Balakrishnan reflected his deep attention to neighboring countries' concerns.

The planned meeting is also described as a way to maintain good relations and strengthen communication with friendly countries, especially neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Arrmanatha Nasir hosted Balakrishnan for high-level bilateral talks in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 27).

On the occasion, the two ministers discussed various issues of mutual interest, especially forest and land fire, which caused haze that reached Singapore.

Nasir told his Singaporean counterpart that Jakarta has made tackling the fires a top national priority.

President Prabowo has directed the intensification, better coordination, and sustenance of the national response and to use all available national resources to fight the fires, he added.

Indonesia understands its neighbors' concern, Nasir said as he appreciated offers of assistance from neighboring countries, including Singapore, to facilitate Indonesia in controlling the forest fire.

However, all offers will be considered by the relevant authorities in Indonesia in line with the needs on the ground, Nasir said.

Indonesia and Singapore have also agreed to form a task force to strengthen joint efforts to handle forest and land fires and their impacts.