REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is scheduled to inaugurate the Garuda Wisnu Kencana monument in Ungasan, Badung, Bali, on Saturday, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster stated. Inauguration to be started at 7 p.m. local time.
"That is the information I have received from a meeting in Jakarta yesterday," he noted at a meeting with media persons at his official residence here on Tuesday evening.
The new governor revealed that President Jokowi will also monitor preparations for the IMF-World Bank meeting next month apart from inaugurating the statue built by famous Balinese sculptor Nyoman Nuarta. "It is because Bali will be the venue (for the IMF-World Bank meeting). I have to report everything related to it. The most important aspect of all is that we must create a conducive, secure, comfortable, and peaceful situation," he noted.
He said Bali is highly concerned about ensuring the success of the meeting, as the reputation of Bali, in particular, and Indonesia, in general, will be at stake and also due to the economic impact of the event on the economy.
"Imagine more than 19 thousand participants, including more than five thousand delegates, will stay in Bali for nine days, on an average," he remarked.
He said the event will also promote Bali as a tourist destination and tourism industry in the region. "The annual IMF-World Bank meeting will be my big test. Any mistake made and the reputation of not only Bali but also the country will be tarnished," he noted.
The GWK statue, which is 121 meters high or 271 meters above sea level, has become a new icon of Bali while its complex will be used as the location of a gala dinner for the thousands of delegates attending the meeting on Oct 8-14.
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