Obama Sends Delegate to Attend Jokowi's presidential Inauguration

Jakarta (Antara) - The US President Barack Obama has sent delegates to attend the inauguration of Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla as president and vice president of Indonesia on October 20. Based on a statement released by the White House on Friday, the delegates who will attend the inauguration are the US State Secretary John Kerry, US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O. Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel R. Russel, Deputy Assistant of State Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and former US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel, Director of Peace Corps Carolyn Hessler-Radelet, and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the office of International and Foreign Language Education Mohamed Abdel-Kader. The victory of Joko Widodo, or popularly known as Jokowi, has been welcomed by the international community. This is apparent as several countries are sending their representatives to attend Jokowi's presidential inauguration on October 20. Among the heads of state who confirmed their attendance at the inauguration are Brunei Darussalam's Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Timor Leste's President Xanana Gusmao, Papua New Guinea's Governor General Michael Ogio, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Haiti's Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbot, Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, and special envoy from Japan, former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda. Apart from the heads of state, the inauguration event will also be attended by ministers from Indonesia's partner countries such as New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, and the United Kingdom's Foreign Affairs Minister William Hague.(*)