Indonesian President Joko Widodo gets hero’s welcome from compatriots in Hong Kong
Supporters at event during two-day visit call on president to boost country’s economy
Indonesian President Joko Widodo began a visit to Hong Kong on Sunday with a pledge to ramp up economic progress so his country would one day overtake China and India in terms of growth.
Widodo was in for rock star treatment from the city’s Indonesian community, thousands of whom packed a hall at the AsiaWorld Expo on Lantau to listen to him speak.
He called for unity, with “Indonesia is one” being the message for the many ethnic groups from the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
“The global economic situation is not in a good shape today,” he said. “But Indonesia’s economic growth is the third in the world, after India and China. If we work really hard, Indonesia’s economic growth could grow faster than India and China.”
Indonesia’s economy grew 5.02 per cent last year, compared with 6.7 per cent for China. Provisional estimates show that India’s economy grew 7.9 per cent.