President Jokowi Talks about Diversity at Bali Democracy Forum
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Kamis, 1 Januari 1970 07:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo raises the issue of diversity in his opening speech at Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) IX held Thursday in Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali.
“There are over 1,300 ethnicities in Indonesia. Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, roughly 85 percent of over 252 million Indonesian people are Muslims,” the President said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
He explained that Islam entered Indonesia around the seventh century and history holds that Islam was introduced peacefully into the country.
The value of peace, the President said, continues to be upheld by Indonesian Muslims.
“Other than Islam, Indonesia is also home to Christians, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists and Confucianism followers,” he said.
Bali Democracy Forum was kicked off in the presence of world leaders, Nobel Peace prize winners, foreign ministers, international organizations and delegates from 94 countries.
“All of this has foster natural synergy between religions, tolerance and democracy in Indonesia. The December 2 action in Jakarta was a proof,” he said.
According to the President, democracy is a continuous process to learn from other democratic countries.
“Therefore, Indonesia is highly committed to turning Bali Democracy Forum into a proper forum for all countries to share their experience in democracy, challenges in democracy and develop cooperation to mutually provide assistance in democracy,” he said.
ANTARA