Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday for a state visit aimed at boosting ties with the emerging Asian power, with the help of some traditional pomp and pageantry.
The queen hosted a lavish banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of Yudhoyono and his wife Ani, after formally welcoming them for the three-day visit with a guard of honour and a ride in her ceremonial carriage.
In a speech to the 177 dinner guests in the palace ballroom, the 86-year-old British monarch praised the strong relationship between the two countries and spoke of their “common values”.
“I am confident that if we work together on our shared aspiration to build a prosperous world based on fundamental freedoms, the partnership between the United Kingdom and Indonesia will continue to flourish,” she said.
She described Indonesia as having undergone a “remarkable transformation” since Yudhoyono came to power in 2004.
“It is now a thriving democracy and one of the world’s fastest growing economies,” said the queen, who visited Indonesia in 1974 with her husband Prince Philip.