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Govt believes Jokowi will continue the Bali Democracy Forum
The Foreign Ministry's director general for information and public diplomacy, Esti Andayani, said she was optimistic that president-elect Joko âJokowiâ Widodo, after assuming office on Oct
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he Foreign Ministry's director general for information and public diplomacy, Esti Andayani, said she was optimistic that president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, after assuming office on Oct. 20, would oversee the continuation of the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), an international meeting initiated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2008.
As the country's sixth president, Yudhoyono is set to address the opening ceremony of the seventh BDF, which will take place at the Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua on Oct. 10-11.
'I can see that Jokowi is a very smart man. Thus, I believe he will not stop this event,' Esti told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
She said she saw Jokowi as a leader who would not abandon anything that had been achieved by his predecessor.
This approach has been seen in his decision to form a transition team, to engage with ministers in Yudhoyono's United Indonesia Cabinet II.
Esti, a former ambassador to Norway and Iceland, said since the first BDF was conducted in 2008, Indonesia had used the forum as an instrument in its foreign policy.
It has become a stage for Indonesia, as the world's third-largest democracy, to share its experiences in democracy to other countries across the globe.
The latest edition of the BDF, which will have the theme 'Evolving Regional Democratic Architecture: The Challenges of Political Development, Public Participation and Socioeconomic Progress in the 21st Century', would be all the more special as Indonesia successfully held two nationwide elections earlier this year, Esti added. (alz/nfo)(++++)
