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Jakarta Post

King Salman welcomed with highest honors

It was not an ordinary day at the Bogor Palace, where the government of Indonesia — the country with the largest Muslim population and once a cluster of ancient Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms — further embraced Islamic culture on Wednesday to honor King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, which are highly regarded by Muslims

Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, March 2, 2017 Published on Mar. 2, 2017 Published on 2017-03-02T00:22:31+07:00

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t was not an ordinary day at the Bogor Palace, where the government of Indonesia — the country with the largest Muslim population and once a cluster of ancient Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms — further embraced Islamic culture on Wednesday to honor King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, which are highly regarded by Muslims.

The historic visit was the first of its kind since Salman’s brother King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met with former president Soeharto 47 years ago at the State Palace in Jakarta on June 10, 1970, in an apparent move to seek Indonesia’s support as a Muslim country after losing the Arab-Israeli war.

Unlike other visiting heads of states, whom President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo usually welcomes at the palace, Jokowi greeted King Salman at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to show his highest appreciation for the king before the two leaders headed to the palace for a meeting.

Among those with Jokowi was Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is currently standing trial on allegations of blasphemy against Islam. Ahok shook the hand of King Salman to welcome him to Jakarta in front of the royal airplane at the airport.

During his address at the palace, Jokowi said that Saudi Arabia had a special bond with Indonesia.

He said Indonesia would not forget that Saudi Arabia was the first country to acknowledge Indonesia’s independence in 1945.

“Indonesia will always have a special relationship with Saudi Arabia. Both countries have significant roles in the regions. The friendship of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia is united by Islam,” Jokowi said.

A grand ceremony had been prepared for King Salman and his entourage, but the heavy downpour that showered the city in the afternoon forced several events to be canceled.

The reception ceremony for the king was initially planned in the front yard of the palace, but due to the heavy rain the event was moved to the palace’s terrace.

Jokowi also initially planned to take King Salman on a tour around the palace in a golf cart, but the plan was altered. Instead, Jokowi gave the king the tour using his presidential car.

Afterward, Jokowi escorted him to have lunch inside the palace. The two were also scheduled to have a talk on the veranda, but King Salman instead opted to greet reporters there before entering the palace to have the talk.

A slight wardrobe gaffe occurred during the signing of 11 agreements between the two countries.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, wearing a long black dress and a hijab, stole the moment when her calves were accidentally revealed as she walked to the podium to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in front of Jokowi and King Salman.

The long skirt of the vibrant bureaucrat, who headed a large fisheries company before taking the government job, had a side slit that showed a part of her leg.

All of Jokowi’s female ministers attending the MoU signing, including Susi, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, wore head scarves and long dresses that day, despite the fact that none of them wear it on a daily basis.

After the meeting, Jokowi honored King Salman by awarding him the country’s highest medal, the Adipurna Star. The accolade reciprocated the same honor King Salman bestowed upon Jokowi during his state visit to Saudi Arabia in 2015.

During his meeting with Jokowi, King Salman said he was honored by the warm welcome in Indonesia and was optimistic that his visit would strengthen ties between the two countries.

“I pray to Allah [God] for this visit to produce significant things to improve bilateral ties between the two countries and to strengthen the friendship between the two countries,” King Salman said in Arabic, as translated by an Indonesian interpreter.

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