McCully to Indonesian Presidential Inauguration

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has travelled to Jakarta to attend the inauguration ceremony for the Indonesian President-elect Joko Widodo.

“Indonesia is one of the world’s largest democracies, a major player in ASEAN, and one of New Zealand’s most important political and trading partners in the South East Asia region,” Mr McCully says.

“Indonesia is projected to be the world’s seventh largest economy by 2030, and with a population of close to 250 million people, it is an important destination for New Zealand exports.

“We work closely with Indonesia in a range of areas, including agricultural cooperation, disaster risk management, the development of geothermal energy resources, and education.

“It is an honour to represent New Zealand at Mr Joko Widodo’s inauguration ceremony and we look forward to continuing to work with him and his Government,” Mr McCully says.

The inauguration ceremony will also be attended by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Sultan of Brunei and a host of other regional leaders and Ministers.