President Jokowi Receives Letters of Credence from Nine New Ambassadors

President Jokowi receives Letter of Credence from one of the Ambassadors of friendly countries, at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (17/1) afternoon. (Photo: JAY/PR)

After inaugurating some high-ranking officials, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo received Letters of Credence from nine new Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Indonesia in turn at the Credentials Room of the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (17/1) afternoon.

Accompanied by the each country’s national anthem, the nine Ambassadors in turn arrived at the courtyard of the Presidential Palace. Subsequently, they submitted the Letter of Credence to President Jokowi.

The meeting was followed up with a veranda talk on the back terrace of the Palace. The President was accompanied by Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi. Minister Retno told reporters that in the talks with President Jokowi, the nine new Ambassadors expressed their high appreciation for Indonesia’s political and economic developments, as well as leadership at the global level. “Some Ambassadors conveyed that Indonesia’s current leadership is not limited to the Southeast Asia region but is already at the global level and they want to promote cooperation with Indonesia,” Minister Retno said.

Palestinian Ambassador, for example, according to Minister Retno, expressed his gratitude for what Indonesia has done. “Indonesia is a close friend of Palestine, and the Ambassador deeply appreciates the support that Indonesia has given for the Palestinian cause,” Minister Retno said.

Meanwhile, the Vatican Ambassador deeply praised Indonesia’s diversity, pluralism, and tolerance, and will encourage cooperation in the context of interfaith dialogue. “The Vatican expressed its support for the struggle of the Palestinian people and its Ambassador stated that until now there is no desire from the Vatican to move its capital to Jerusalem,” Minister Retno added.

With China, economic cooperation is a topic of conversation and the President exchanges ideas. The Minister admitted that there is a significant increase in economic cooperation, but the President again emphasized the importance of mutually beneficial economic cooperation.

“So the figure that was brought by the Chinese Ambassador, in 2017, our trade figure already reached USD66 billion dollars. In investment, China is the third largest investor in Indonesia, and Chinese tourists reached 2 million last year,” Minister Retno said while adding China also expressed its appreciation, in particular, for Indonesian leadership in the peace mission.

The nine new Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Indonesia are:

1. Valery Kolesnik, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus;
2. Archbishop Piero Pioppo, Ambassador of the Holy See of the Vatican;
3. Zuhair Al-Shun, Ambassador of Palestine;
4. Admasu Tsegaye Agidew, Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia;
5. Xiao Qian, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China;
6. Mona El Tannir, Ambassador of the Republic of Lebanon;
7. Abdulghani Nassr Ali Al-Shamiri, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen;
8. Armando Gonzalo Alvarez Reina, Ambassador of the United Mexican State; and
9. Hilton Fisher, Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa.

The meeting ended with a group photo session with President Jokowi and the nine Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Also Attending the event were Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung. (FID/JAY/ES) (MUR/YM/Naster).