THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia were the first two countries in the Middle East visited by Joko Widodo after he was inaugurated as president. Since then, Jokowi has visited both countries almost every year, especially the UAE. The main agenda typically involves trade and investment.

Most recently, Jokowi met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on July 18. He returned with eight memorandums of understa