Saudi king urges fight against terrorism

Saudi Arabia's King Salman yesterday called for a united fight against terrorism in a speech to Indonesia's parliament during a landmark state visit to the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

The king is making the first visit by a Saudi monarch to Indonesia in almost 50 years as part of a tour of Asia, accompanied by a 1,000-strong delegation and hundreds of tons of luggage.

In a speech to hundreds of people at the legislature in the capital Jakarta, he called for an intensified fight against terrorism.

"The challenge we, especially Muslims, face now is terrorism," he said. "We should close ranks in combating terrorism, radicalism and strive to bring world peace for the benefit of all of us."

Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led coalition that has carried out air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) group and other jihadists in Syria.

IS is under pressure in Iraq and Syria, as government forces make a drive to retake areas held by the jihadists.

Saudi Arabia has witnessed a series of deadly attacks claimed by IS since late 2014, mostly targeting the Shia minority and security forces, killing dozens of people.

Indonesia and Saudi Arabia Wednesday signed agreements in areas ranging from trade to aviation after the kingdom's monarch reached Jakarta.

King Salman and Widodo oversaw the signing of 11 cooperation memoranda following talks at the Bogor palace. Apart from trade and aviation, they included agreements on boosting cooperation in science, health and fighting crime.

Jakarta and Riyadh also inked an agreement that builds on an existing $6 billion deal between state-owned energy firms Aramco and Pertamina to expand an Indonesian oil refinery.