Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that his country is willing to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in his talks with US President Barack Obama in the White House on Monday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his US counterpart after the talks, Joko affirmed Indonesia has the intention of joining the TPPA.

Indonesia expressed its interest in the TPPA on many occasions but this was the first time South-East Asia’s biggest economy seriously expressed its intention of joining the agreement that the US and 11 partners completed negotiations.

For his part, Obama said President Joko has been leading Indonesia on the right direction and expressed willingness to cooperate with the South-East Asian country.

At the talks, the two presidents also discussed issues relating to the fight against the so-called Islamic State and climate change.

They also touched upon maritime security, including tensions in the East Sea (South China Sea).

Obama said the two sides discussed the importance of the cooperation within the framework of Asean and East Asian forums in order to cement international law and order regarding maritime navigation.

According to the Indonesian Presidential Office chief Pramono Anung, Joko will cut his five-day trip to the US by one day because of the crisis of haze pollution in Sumatra and Borneo.

Instead of visiting San Francisco to meet leaders of tech giants Apple and Google, the president will leave for home tomorrow evening.

Despite the scale of the two economies, the US-Indonesia trade stood at only US$28 billion (RM119.5 billion) in 2014, which is considered far below their potential.

- Bernama