Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana welcomed Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at the Bogor Palace.

The Swedish monarch leader is on a visit to three cities --Jakarta, Bogor, and Bandung-- as part of his three-day agenda on May 22-24.

King Gustaf and Queen Silvia were welcomed by a cannon salute and state ceremony. This is the first state visit for the Swedish king to Indonesia after 65 years diplomatic relationship between two countries. 

At the Bogor Palace, West Java, the president and First Lady accompanied the Swedish monarch to see "The Hand of God" statue that was created by Swedish sculptor Carl Miles as a gift from Swedens government to Indonesia back in 1957.

Both leaders also observed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the transportation sector, including air navigation, and airport services.

During the meeting, Jokowi conferred the Indonesian Adipurna Star on the king. Thereafter, King Gustaf awarded the Order of Seraphim to Jokowi.

The king and queen were accompanied by Infrastructure Minister Anna Johannson and delegations from 31 companies.

On the second day, the king and queen will participate in the Hackhaton event held to tackle the traffic problem in Jakarta and will inaugurate the Indonesian-Sweden Business Executive Forum focused on digitalization, infrastructure, and welfare and will be followed by a visit to the Indonesia Port Cooperation in Tanjung Priok.

Thereafter, King Gustaf and Queen Silvia will attend a luncheon with Jakarta's Governor Djarot Syaiful Hidayat at the Old City area, followed by a creativity seminar and a visit to the open library at Manggarai. 

Both are also scheduled to attend a "roundtable discussion" with Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise.

During the third day of their visit, King Gustaf and Queen Silvia will travel to Bandung aboard a train and meet Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil, followed by a visit to the Asia-Africa and Persib Bandung Museum. 

They will also witness the signing of the Linkedin portal Sweden-Indonesia Connect MoU to link the alumni with Swedish Indonesian companies and will attend the triple helix seminar at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Source: ANTARA