Bali Hosts World's Second Largest Democracy Forum after UN

TheIndonesia.co - The President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo arrived at the location of the 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the Bali International Convention Center (BICC) Nusa Dua, Bali, Sunday, March 20, 2022, to open the 4-day event, starting from March 20 to 24. Joko Widodo (Jokowi) walked towards the BICC Mangupura Room with the Indonesian House of Representatives Speaker, Puan Maharani, at around 19.30 Bali time.

The President of the Republic of Indonesia, who was wearing a black suit and a red tie, met directly around 1,000 delegates from 115 countries. Puan Maharani, who walked into the room with the President, was seen wearing a black shirt combined with a black blazer with gold batik patterns.

Both of them took the time to greet the media crew covering the event and the delegates. In the opening ceremony, the President is scheduled to press the button to mark the official start of the 144th IPU Assembly and give a speech afterward.

The opening ceremony of the 144th Assembly of the IPU was also attended by a number of state officials, including the Chief Justice of the Indonesian Constitutional Court Anwar Usman, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi.

President of IPU Duarte Pacheco and Puan Maharani also scheduled to give remarks after the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres.

Indonesia is hosting the IPU's annual assembly for the first time. The IPU is a cross-border inter-parliamentary collaboration that is the second-largest democratic forum in the world after the United Nations. This year, the IPU session focused on climate issues, gender equality, youth in politics, and the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine.

According to the President of the IPU when meeting media on Saturday, the IPU is committed to promoting a peaceful resolution. According to Pachecho, a ceasefire must be immediately carried out by the two conflicting countries because many are suffering, especially women and children. He guaranteed that the IPU would not only discuss the issue but would take concrete steps to resolve the issue.