Saudi King Salman in Indonesia; Focuses on Combatting Terrorism
1 March 2017 15:16 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud arrives in Indonesia for a 12-day visit today. One of the 10 agreements that will be signed during his visit is a pact to combat terrorism, which becomes the centerpiece of the kingdom envoy's visit.
We know Indonesia has suffered from bombing and terrorism here. We will cooperate with Indonesia in this field. We can exchange data, we can exchange experience, and we can defeat these people," Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Osama Mohammad Abdullah Alshuaibi said on March 1 as quoted by Al Arabiyah.
Read: King Salman's Visit a Historic Moment for Indonesia
According to Alshuaibi, Indonesian military officers are training in each other’s countries to counter ISIS. Moderate Islamic groups in Indonesia are increasingly concerned about the issue of terrorism in the country after a series of attacks carried by ISIS supporters happened in the last year.
King Salman visits Indonesia during a time of increasing influence of hardline Islamist groups and leaders, which is against Indonesia's moderate Islam tradition known as "Islam Nusantara".
King Salman will be in Indonesia until March 12. In an interview with Reuters, Ambassador Alshuaibi said the king's visit is the biggest one in the last five decades.
Saudi Arabia is now also facing the threat of terrorism, including from ISIS that considers the kingdom as no longer running on pure Islamic values.
Al ARABIYAH | REUTERS | MARIA RITA