Indonesian leader addresses Australian parliament

The president of Indonesia spoke to Australia's Parliament in Canberra on Monday, urging a closer partnership between their nations as their shared democratic values are threatened by uncertain global economics.

President Joko Widodo was addressing a rare joint-sitting of the Australian Parliament during the first visit to the country by an Indonesian leader since Susilo Bambang Yuhhoyono in 2010.

Indonesian and Australian officials had earlier signed documents supporting bilateral free trade that deepens wide-ranging links between the near-neighbours, as the Australian government attempts to reduce its heavy economic reliance on China.

Widodo said his country of 270 million people was forecast to become the world' s fourth-largest economy by 2050 with the world's third-largest middle class.

The world could also face more uncertainties by then with greater challenges to geopolitics and geo-economics, Widodo said.

Indonesia is Australia's closest neighbour after Papua New Guinea. But the two countries rank as only each other's 13th most important partner in terms of bilateral trade.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship by making Jakarta the destination of his first overseas trip as a national leader in 2018, thanked Widodo for sending 40 members of the armed forces to aid in New South Wales state's bushfires and floods. They are now responding to widespread flooding in southeast Australia.

Morrison said the multifaceted free trade deal, which will take effect early this year, would be mutually beneficial for both countries.