VIP visit: Indonesian president makes quick stop in Brownsville

Brownsville received a presidential visit on May 14 when Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo flew in to visit Boca Chica/Starbase and met with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.

Widodo traveled to Brownsville from Washington D.C. where he had attended a special summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations hosted by President Joe Biden. Jokowi, who also chairs the G20 international economic forum, met with Musk at Boca Chica to discuss potential investments and technology, according to a statement from the Indonesian government, reported by Reuters.

Brownsville City Commission for District 1 Nurith Galonsky was the sole member of the city commission on the welcoming committee that greeted Widodo’s arrival at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport on Saturday. She said she met with the president for no more than a minute before he climbed into a Chevy Suburban for the ride to SpaceX’s Boca Chica complex. His entire visit here was “a few hours,” she said.

“Interestingly, the consul of Indonesia — his office is in Houston — said that this is the first time the president had ever been to Texas,” Galonsky said. “The consul was very warm and receptive.”

General Consul Andre Omer Siregar confirmed in a statement that it was Widodo’s first trip to Texas, adding, “I am hoping that this visit will inspire more economic cooperation and people-to-people cooperation.”

“I think the whole SpaceX thing is really drawing attention from all around the world,” Galonsky said. “He did express interest in learning more about Brownsville and fostering more of a relationship, which I think would be great. I don’t know what the main industries in Indonesia are, but why wouldn’t they be interested in maybe coming to Brownsville?”

According to a statement from Widodo’s office, reported by Bloomberg, the president extended an invitation to Musk to visit Indonesia and Musk said he hoped to visit the country in November. Indonesia has some of the world’s largest deposits of copper, nickel and tin, and has been in talks with teams from Tesla and SpaceX over the last several years about potential partnerships, though no agreements have been signed to date, according to Bloomberg.

Galonsky said she believes Deputy City Manager/Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation Executive Director Helen Ramirez has already followed up with Siregar’s office.

“Helen’s really good at fostering good relationships, so maybe we can host the ambassador just so that he’s even more aware of what’s happening in our part of the state,” Galonsky said.