JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – The first Saudi monarch to visit Indonesia in nearly half a century has arrived to an elaborate official welcome and crowds of thousands.
King Salman exited his plane at Halim airport in Jakarta on Wednesday using an escalator, with a portable lift carrying him the final meter or so to the ground.
He was met by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and whisked off in a heavily secured convoy to a presidential palace in Bogor, outside of Jakarta, where tens of thousands of people lined the route.
Salman is on a tour of Asian countries to drum up business and improve ties.
The government of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has said Salman’s entourage and related delegations number about 1,500 people.