VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (VOI News) - President Joko Widodo received a visit from former British Prime Minister, Toni Blair and SoftBank CEO, Masayoshi Son at the State Palace in Jakarta, Friday (02/28/2020). Before sharing discussion among the delegation and the government, President Joko Widodo first invited Toni Blair, who served as Executive Chairman of the Toni Blair Institute for Global Change and Masayoshi Son to have a relaxed conversation on the veranda of the State Palace in Jakarta. President Joko Widodo welcomed the arrival of the two world leaders who will be involved in the construction of Indonesia's new capital.

"Welcome to Indonesia Mr. Toni Blair and Mr. Masayoshi Son with the delegation. I am pleased to receive your visit to further discuss the development plan for Indonesia's new capital city. Thank you for accepting the offer to advisory both members on the relocation of the capital city. I'm sure this strong cooperation will further support the establishment of the modern and environmentally friendly capital city," said Joko Widodo.

After meeting President Joko Widodo, Toni Blair said that he appreciated President Joko Widodo's vision of the existence of a new capital. He will try to cooperate with the best people to be involved in the construction of the new capital.

"Part of the reason, whatever it is so that you create something that is absolutely and identifiably the capital for Indonesia but it is also somewhere where people from around the world want to contribute because they see this as an exciting project," Presiden Joko Widodo added.

Meanwhile, SoftBank CEO, Masayoshi Son stated that his side is in the process of investing in the construction of Indonesia's new capital. Even though it is still in process, Masayoshi Son said that until now, the talks have been going well.

"As it comes to investment, we have to always look at the total picture. What is the risk? What is the excitement? We have to look at the total balance. So we have discussed all kind of planning. What is the total amount of capital we need? What is the design of the city? What is the population? What are the basic rules and regulations? So we have to look at the total picture. At the end with the total picture, we decide how much, from which entity. But so far the discussion is going into the right direction, very exciting and good direction," said Masayoshi Son.

Previously it was reported that President Joko Widodo had invited 3 international figures as the Steering Board for the construction of the new capital. The three were Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, CEO of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son and former British Prime Minister, Toni Blair. The selection of these figures is expected to be able to build international trust making it easier for Indonesia to carry out various collaborations related to the new capital development. (VOI/Ndy-Wen/AHM)