By Erric Permana
JAKARTA (AA) - Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed on a business deal involving a total investment of up to 314.9 trillion Indonesian Rupiah ($22.89 billion), according to the presidency on Monday.
The agreement was reached on Sunday during a meeting between visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at the Qasr Al Watan Palace in the UAE capital, the presidency said in a statement.
The pact included business deals on energy, oil and gas, ports, telecommunications and research.
They also agreed on five intergovernmental cooperation deals in various fields: religion, education, agriculture, health and counter-terrorism, according to the statement.
Widodo hailed the progress in ties between the two countries, saying Jakarta wanted to make Abu Dhabi a partner in modern, moderate and tolerant Islamic education.
"This is very important step in preventing extremism and terrorism," he added.
For his part, bin Zayed said relations between the two countries could still be improved.
He underlined that Islam was a religion of peace and that Indonesia -- hosting the largest Muslim population in the world -- could be an example to other Muslim countries.