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Bali welcomes King Salman
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Warm welcome: A billboard emblazoned with the picture of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stands in front of a Bali Police office ahead of the arrival of the Saudi king and his entourage in Bali on Saturday. King Salman will spend six days of vacation on the island. (Antara/Fikri Yusuf)
K
ing Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia arrived at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport for a six-day vacation on Saturday afternoon.
"King Salman’s flight landed at 5:53 p.m. local time," said Arie Ahsanurrohin, the head of communications and legal affairs at state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura at Ngurah Rai Airport.
Journalists were banned from entering the area where the Saudi king and his entourage arrived. It was the king's advance team that had reportedly asked to ban journalists on the grounds that it was a private visit.
Fifty Balinese dancers were preparing to perform a Balinese welcome dance for the king's arrival, which was apparently moved to another part of the airport from the initially planned location near the Air Force base.
(Read also: King Salman’s arrival in Bali to affect 39 flights)
Officials greeting King Salman included Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, who was wearing traditional Balinese attire, Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Petrus R. Golose and Udayana IX District Military Command commander Maj. Gen. Kustanto Widiatmoko.
From the airport, King Salman and his entourage went directly to St. Regis Bali Resort, where they are scheduled to stay for six days. Traffic police officers closed the Bali Mandara toll road around 15 minutes before the king's entourage passed along it.
Security around the airport was heightened hours before the king aircraft touched down. Fully equipped military and police personnel safeguarded the area.
King Salman and his entourage are expected to stay in Bali until March 9. The luxurious beachfront hotel St. Regis Bali Resort has been booked for the king's Bali holiday. (ebf)
