JAKARTA (XINHUA) - President Joko Widodo left the country on Friday (Oct 30) to attend three meetings abroad, after carrying out his duties from Indonesia in the last 20 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

These included virtually attending the just-concluded Asean summit hosted by Brunei.

Mr Widodo is visiting Italy, Britain and the United Arab Emirates.

He is attending the summit of the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies in Rome on Oct 30-31.

He will later fly to the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Britain, on Nov 1-2.

"At the two summits, I will also hold bilateral meetings with several countries," Mr Widodo told a virtual press conference on Friday.

The G-20 summit will end with the handover of the presidency from Italy to Indonesia, which will officially take place on Dec 1.

The COP26 meeting to be chaired by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be attended by around 120 heads of state and government.

The issue of climate change is important for Indonesia, home to the world's largest tropical and mangrove forests.

Widodo will also visit the UAE on Nov 3-4 to attend the World Expo in Dubai.

His last foreign visit was to Canberra on Feb 8, last year, The Jakarta Post reported, making him one of the G-20 leaders who has stayed at home the longest, second only to China's President Xi Jinping whose last trip overseas was to Myanmar in January this year.