Indonesia Sets Good Example Of Democracy: Ukrainian Ambassador

Jakarta, Oct 20 (Antara) - Ukrainian Ambassador to Indonesia Volodymyr Pakhil said Indonesia has set a good example of democracy during the Presidential Election held this year which eventually elected Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla as President and Vice President for the period of 2014-2019. "Indonesia has shown itself as an exemplar democracy, a regional and global leader in terms of democratic standards - conducting a truly free and fair vote and transfer of power," said Ambassador Pakhil here, Monday. According to him, over the past several years the bilateral relations between Ukraine and Indonesia have become increasingly dynamic, both politically and economically. The annual trade turnover reached 1 billion USD. "We are grateful for this bilateral cooperation and hope relations between our two countries will continue to develop dynamically with the coming of the new government," said the ambassador. President Joko Widodo or popularly known as Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla were inaugurated here on Monday during plenary session of the People`s Consultative Assembly. The inauguration was attended by members of the parliament, high ranking officials in the government and representatives of foreign countries. About eight heads of state and 10 ministers from Indonesia`s partner countries were present, namely Timor Leste`s President Taur Matan Ruak, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O`Nieill, Australia`s Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Singapore`s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Malaysia`s Prime Minister Dato` Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Haiti`s Prime Minister Laurent Salvador Lamonthe and Japan`s former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as special envoy of the Japanese government. Meanwhile the ministers and high ranking officials attending the inauguration ceremony were China`s Deputy Chairwoman of the People`s Congress Yan Junqi, Viet Nam`s Chief of Government Office Vu Duc NDu, New Zealand`s Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, special envoy from the Republic of Korea Kim Tae-whan and Ham Jin-kyu. Thailand`s Deputy Prime Minister as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn, special envoy from the Netherlands Dr Tjeek Willink, US Secretary of State John Kerry, UK`s Foreign Affairs Minister Philip Hammond and Russia`s Industry Minister Denis Valentinovich.