Around 60,000 students from elementary to senior high schools, as well as their teachers, stood waiting along Jl. Otto Iskandardinata and Jl. Juanda from Wednesday morning to welcome the king, who arrived in the early afternoon.

They greeted the convoy of cars carrying King Salman and his entourage that passed the roads on their way to the Bogor Presidential Palace. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and several of his Cabinet ministers, including Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, welcomed King Salman, who arrived at the palace at 1:55 p.m.

Greetings: Thousands of school students and teachers from Bogor, West Java, welcome King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud and his entourage on March 1. (JP/Theresia Sufa)

Two hours before the arrival of the king, Bogor mayor Bima Arya and his administration officials checked all roads along the route, starting from Jl. Pajajaran to Jl. Juanda, the main road in front of the Bogor Palace, the king’s delegation would take.  

He said he cleared the route to ensure that it was free from street vendors, illegally-parked vehicles and garbage.

Transportation Agency head Rakhmawati, Parks Agency head Yadi Cahyadi and dozens of Public Order Agency personnel accompanied the mayor during the route checks.

King Salman arrived in Jakarta along with 1,500 members of his entourage who accompanied him during his month-long visit to several Asian countries. Indonesia is his second destination before he travels to Japan, China, the Maldives and Jordan.

King Salman’s official visit will run from March 1 to 3. On the remaining days, from March 4 to 9, the king and his entourage are set to spend time for a holiday in Bali. (ebf)

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