Brunei Sultan Appreciates Jokowi's Imauguration as President

Jakarta (Antara) - Brunei Darussalam's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has appreciated the inauguration of Jokow Widodo as Indonesia's seventh President and Jusuf Kalla as his Vice-President. "I congratulate him (Jokowi) on his inauguration as Indonesia's new President," the Brunei Sulatan told the media after the inauguration ceremony at the Parliament building here on Monday. The Sultan expressed hope that the new president will foster closer ties between Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam. "I hope the relations between Brunei and Indonesia will develop well in the future," Hassanal Bolkiah stated. Six heads of state and 13 special envoys were present at the presidential inauguration. The six leaders were Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, Timor Leste President Taur Mata Huak, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Papua New Guinean (PNG) Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The foreign ministers and dignitaries who were present included Japan's former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Filipino Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario, New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully, Thai Deputy Prime Minister, Sri Lankan industry and oil minister, Russian industry and trade minister, and Turkey's trade minister. Special envoys from South Korea, Canada, and China were also present. President Jokowi and Vice-President M. Jusuf Kalla took oaths during the plenary session of the People's Consultative Assembly led by Speaker Zulkifli Hasan. Jokowi is the second Indonesian president, after Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who led the country during the last decade, to be directly elected by the people.(*)