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Megawati to meet Pope Francis again, this time at children’s rights summit in Vatican

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri is slated to meet Pope Francis on the sidelines of the the World Leaders’ Summit on Children’s Rights in the Vatican, which will mark their second meeting to date.

Radhiyya Indra (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, February 3, 2025 Published on Feb. 3, 2025 Published on 2025-02-03T12:43:05+07:00

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Megawati to meet Pope Francis again, this time at children’s rights summit in Vatican Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chair Megawati Soekarnoputri delivers a speech during the party's 52nd anniversary in Jakarta on Jan. 10, 2025. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri is slated to meet Pope Francis on the sidelines of the the World Leaders’ Summit on Children’s Rights in the Vatican, which will mark their second meeting to date.

The chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is scheduled to be one of speakers at the summit on Monday, Vatican time.

She arrived in Rome on Friday accompanied by her son Mohammad Rizki Pratama and daughter Puan Maharani, who is the House of Representatives speaker.

PDI-P executive Ahmad Basarah said that Megawati’s meeting with the Pope “has been finalized” by the Holy See, Tempo reported.

Basarah said Megawati would share a message about humanity and awareness of children’s rights, in line with the summit’s theme.

Other world leaders scheduled to attend the summit are Queen Rania of Jordan, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, and Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara. The Pope will open the summit on Monday.

Megawati will also potentially meet Egypt’s Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Muhammad Ahmad Al Thayyib at the summit, which remains to be confirmed, Antara reported.

The PDI-P chairwoman first met the pontiff on Dec. 18, 2023, in a special audience at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. During their meeting, Megawati reportedly talked about world peace and religious harmony with the head of the Vatican.

Megawati had met the former pope John Paul II in the Vatican in 2002 during her time as president.

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