Jokowi, whose two-term presidency of Southeast Asia’s largest economy has seen what critics are increasingly calling a democratic regression, said that democracy was universal but that it must also account for the “aspirations, values and specificities” of all the people living under it.

He touted the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), Asia-Pacific’s premier event exploring and promoting democracy, as an example of a place where state and nonstate actors can share perspectives on democracy without pointing fingers.

“This is [what we call] a homegrown democracy. The BDF involves youth, businesspeople and civil society, which are all important pillars of democracy,” Jokowi said in a statement from the Bogor Palace on Thursday evening.

The BDF, which Indonesia has hosted over the past 14 years, brings together representatives of democracies and related groups across a wide spectrum of governance to share best practices and address emerging challenges to democracy.

"This is an example of Indonesia's commitment to advancing democracy and human rights in the region and globally. Our commitment toward democracy goes beyond our borders," President Jokowi said.

The BDF is the brainchild of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who used the forum to rally world leaders to the cause. It put Indonesia on the geopolitical map as one of the biggest democracies in the world, even as its outward-looking promotion of democracy often is at odds with the weakening of key democratic institutions.

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