VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo's name was immortalized as a street name in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates on Monday afternoon (19/10).

According to a written statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi received in Jakarta on Tuesday, the inauguration of the street name "President Joko Widodo" was carried out by Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.

The event took place at 4:45 p.m local time on the road that was inaugurated.

The event was attended by the Indonesian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Husin Bagis and the staff of the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Also attending several officials from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Abu Dhabi Municipality, who together witnessed the unveiling of the red curtain covering the name of the street.

The naming of President Joko Widodo's road reflects the close relationship between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates and respect from the UAE Government to Indonesian President Joko Widodo in advancing relations between the two countries during his tenure as head of state.

President Joko Widodo Street is located on one of the main roads, which divides the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) with an area that is home to a number of diplomatic representative offices.

The name of the street was previously Al Ma'arid Street, which in Indonesian means exhibition. The road connects the Rabdan road with the Tunb Al Kubra road.

Ambassador Husin Bagis expressed his hope that the naming of President Joko Widodo's road in Abu Dhabi will further strengthen and enhance the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the UAE, which have become increasingly close these days.

Street names in Abu Dhabi are generally geographic names that reflect the mainland history of the street on which they are located while preserving the Abu Dhabi culture and identity.

However, the Abu Dhabi Government in 2013 changed the names of several main streets in Abu Dhabi to the names of the great leaders of Abu Dhabi. This was done as a form of respect and to commemorate the vision, leadership, and contribution of leaders who built the UAE society.

The UAE Government had previously carried out a change in street names in Abu Dhabi with the names of leaders of friendly countries on 23 September 2019.

At that time, the UAE inaugurated the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud street on one of the roads in Abu Dhabi as a form of respect for King Salman's contribution to the Islamic world and to strengthen bilateral relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia and the people of the two countries.

The naming of roads for President Joko Widodo in Abu Dhabi has added to the number of roads with names of Indonesian figures abroad, such as Jalan Sukarno in Rabat, Morocco; Jalan Muhammad Hatta in Harleem, Netherlands; Raden Adjeng Kartini Street in Amsterdam; and Jalan Munir in The Hague. (Antaranews)