World leaders applaud Jokowi

JAKARTA. Foreign leaders congratulated Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday on his presidential inauguration, saying that they were looking forward to working with Indonesia’s seventh president to strengthen ties and boost bilateral cooperation.

Speaking to local reporters after attending Jokowi’s swearing-in ceremony at the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) building in Senayan, Central Jakarta, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that he saw Jokowi’s leadership as a “good sign” for future relations between the neighboring countries.

“I congratulate Mr. Joko and Mr. [Vice President Jusuf] Kalla who have just begun their duties. This is a good sign. I hope relations between Indonesia and Malaysia continue to move forward,” he said.

Later in the day, Najib paid a visit to Jokowi at the State Palace for their first meeting. Shortly before bidding farewell, Najib asked Jokowi to take a selfie with him.

Jokowi held four separate courtesy call meetings with four different world leaders on Monday evening.  Jokowi first held a 15-minute meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at 5 p.m. Five minutes after his meeting with Lee, he welcomed Najib.

President Jokowi later met with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott around 7 p.m. and with US Secretary of State John Kerry at 8 p.m.  Jokowi’s meeting with Kerry lasted less than 30 minutes.

None of the guests, who all looked jovial during their meetings with Jokowi, gave statements to the media.

Speaking after his meeting with Abbott, Jokowi said he talked about a number of issues with the foreign leaders. Jokowi said he and Najib discussed “regulations that are often seen as obstacles to investment in certain areas”.

With Lee, Jokowi said they mostly talked about issues related to the economy. “Singapore, for instance, asked about subsidized fuel and infrastructure. The prime minister also asked about bureaucratic reform,” Jokowi said. “Investors who come here often complain about those things, as well as electricity.”

Jokowi said that he discussed a number of issues with Abbott.  “During my meeting with the Australian Prime Minister, [we] talked about many things, including investment and Indonesian students who study there,” Jokowi said.

“We also discussed an invitation [from Australia] to attend the G20 forum. But I cannot confirm my attendance as I have not yet formed a Cabinet that can arrange the details of the meeting and schedule,” he said.

The G20, set to be held this year in Brisbane, is a prestigious annual powwow of leaders from the world’s 20 biggest economies.

Earlier in the morning, Abbott, on the sidelines of Jokowi’s inauguration, shared his optimism regarding the future of Indonesia-Australia ties under Jokowi’s leadership.

“Australia and Indonesia are very good friends. I am looking forward to building a stronger friendship in the months and years to come,” Abbott said after the ceremony.

Other foreign dignitaries that attended Jokowi’s inauguration included, among others, Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and Timor Leste President Taur Matan Ruak.

Prior to the ceremony, various foreign leaders shared their enthusiasm about attending the inauguration.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Lee, for instance, posted on his official Facebook account a photo of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle taken from a room at the Hotel Indonesia Kempinski in Central Jakarta, where he spent the night before attending Monday’s inauguration.

“Looking forward to meeting with President Jokowi and other leaders attending the ceremony tomorrow,” he said via his Facebook account.

A number of foreign leaders who were unable to attend the ceremony sent their best wishes to Jokowi through their envoys.

Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said Russian President Vladimir Putin was eager to meet with Jokowi to discuss future relations between the two countries.

“We expect the two leaders to meet in the near future to discuss bilateral cooperation in various fields,” Manturov said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Manturov said Russia was particularly interested in developing its metallurgy industry in Indonesia, which would enable the transfer of the country’s metallurgy technology to Indonesian counterparts. (Hasyim Widhiarto and Ina Parlina)