The Saudi monarch’s rare month-long trip takes him to strategically important nations in the economically fast-growing region, with which Riyadh wants to deepen commercial engagement and socio-political ties.

Saudi King Salman and his vast entourage comprised of over 1,000 people, including princes and ministers, were welcomed Wednesday to the Indonesian capital by the country’s President Joko Widodo and Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.

… Salman’s visit to the Southeast Asian countries also underscores cooperative and mutually reinforcing ties between Muslim-majority countries and affirms the Islamic credentials as well as image of the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia, underlines Noor.

“For Malaysia and Indonesia, in particular, this comes at a politically opportune time given domestic and international developments.”

This view was echoed by Saleena Saleem, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore.

“The king’s visit and the signing of the investment agreement reflect well on Malaysia’s political leader, Najib Razak, who faces damaging allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement over state investment fund, 1MDB.”

“The Aramco-Petronas agreement is one way in which Riyadh shows support for the Southeast Asian leaders,” she told DW.