Thank You King Salman, See You Next Time
Jakarta/Bali. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia departed from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, on Sunday (12/03), after a four-day state visit followed by an eight-day vacation in Indonesia.
The king departed at 11.15 a.m. on a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-400 bound for Haneda, Japan, to continue his Asian tour.
Several Indonesian government officials – including Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Petrus Golose and Udayana Military commander Maj. Gen. Kustanto Widiatmoko – escorted the king to the royal airplane amid heavy security.
"Goodbye King Salman. May God always protect you and may you arrive at your next destination safely," Minister Lukman said at the airport, as reported by news portal Detik.com.
The airport was closed to the public between 10.45 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. for King Salman's departure. This resulted in the delay of 13 domestic and five international flights.
The monarch was accompanied by an entourage of 1,500 people, including 25 princes and 14 ministers during his visit to Indonesia.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomed the king at Bogor Palace in West Java on March 1, marking the first visit by a Saudi monarch to Indonesia in nearly five decades.
The two leaders oversaw the signing of 11 agreements, which include pacts to remove trade barriers and a new agreement between the countries' state energy companies, Saudi Aramco and Pertamina, to build on an existing $6 billion plan to expand Indonesia's biggest refinery.
Indonesia also had its annual hajj quota increased to 221,000 from 168,800 pilgrims previously.
President Jokowi honored the king with the Adipurna Star during their meeting in Bogor.
In business, Indonesian and Saudi Arabian companies finalized four investment agreements totaling $2.4 billion in the housing, mining, health and tourism sectors.
Tags: Keywords: