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Ministry denies rumor consultant helped set up Jokowi-Obama meeting
President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (left) and US President Barack Obama (right)
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President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (left) and US President Barack Obama (right). (via kompas.com) (left) and US President Barack Obama (right). (via kompas.com)
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (left) and US President Barack Obama (right). (via kompas.com)
The Foreign Ministry has denied a rumor that a recent meeting between President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and US President Barack Obama needed the assistance of a paid consultant to take place.
'The Foreign Ministry regretted this issue, which is very inaccurate, baseless and almost fictitious,' the ministry claimed in a press release on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.
The ministry asserted that Jokowi's recent working visit was based on an invitation by Obama, which was delivered directly during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Beijing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China on Nov. 10, followed by a written invitation delivered through diplomatic channels.
For various reasons, Jokowi was only able to accept the invitation on Oct. 25.
The preparations for the US visit was led by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in coordination with various ministries and institutions: the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, the Indonesian Consulate-General in San Francisco and the United States Embassy in Jakarta, as well as several businesspeople and other relevant stakeholders.
Internal meetings and meetings between the ministers and state officials from the two countries were also conducted prior to the visit, with the final preparations taking place in a meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers in Washington, DC on Sept. 21.
Because of the intensive preparations, said the ministry, the working visit had resulted in the signing of more than 18 business agreements worth more than US$20 billion, as well as several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between the US and Indonesian governments.
'The Foreign Ministry never issued any budget for a lobbyist service, although we understand that [the profession] is a real part of the US political world and is often used by the other countries' stakeholders and governments to promote their interests in the US,' said the ministry.
The ministry also regretted that an academic from the Australian National University, Michael Buehler, could start such a rumor.
Previously, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon called on the government to explain the rumor that a consultant had helped organize the meeting between Jokowi and Obama.
According to a report by kompas.com, Buehler wrote on a website that a Singaporean consultant paid US$80,000 to a Las Vegas public relations company to lobby for the Indonesian government to gain access to the White House. (kes)
