Yudhoyono, Jokowi to Continue Consultation on Leadership Transition

Nusa Dua, Bali (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and President-elect Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, have agreed to continue consultation on leadership transition. "Alhamdulillah Jokowi and I have the same thing in mind. We agree to continue consultation and to create a new tradition in order to make the transition of government as good as possible," President Yudhoyono stated in a joint press conference with Jokowi here on Wednesday evening. Yudhoyono noted that his first two-hour-long meeting with Jokowi on Wednesday was the start of the consultation process in the transition of leadership and government. "We have agreed that what we discussed this evening will be further technically deliberated by Jokowi's transitional team and the ranks of the current administration," the president remarked. He stated that during the tête-à-tête, they discussed constructive matters related to the agenda of the state and government, government programs and policies, including the Draft of State Budget 2014 (RAPBN-2015) and the Revised State Budget 2014. "By having opened the doors of consultation in the transition of leadership and the government later, the consultation team of Pak Jokowi is now able to officially consult with the ranks of the current government that I will assign later," the president noted, referring to more detailed discussions. Meanwhile, Jokowi assessed that the consultation meeting with Yudhoyono was a new tradition because it fulfills his objective to ensure continuity between the current and the next government. "This is a new tradition that we are going to build between President Yudhoyono's government and the new government later," Jokowi emphasized. (*)