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eputy Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama congratulated the Vatican for the election of Pope Francis, the first South American pope, during Vatican Ambassador Archbishop Antonio G. Filipazzi’s visit on Friday.

“I expressed my congratulations to [the ambassador] for the election of Pope Francis,” Basuki said at City Hall as quoted by kompas.com, adding that he received a Papal medallion, a book on the history of the 1947 Papal and a book about Episcopacy in Indonesia.

He said the ambassador’s visit was to maintain good relations between the capital and the Vatican. He said both Indonesia and the Vatican had similarities in promoting religious freedom. “The ambassador also told me that the Vatican was one [of the first countries] to recognize Indonesia’s independence,” Basuki said.