"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not use the (services of the) lobbyist and did not pay for any lobbyist for Jokowi's visit to the United States," Marsudi told a press conference in Jakarta on Saturday.
She made the statement to deny a report that Jokowi's visit to the United States was facilitated by foreign lobbyists.
Marsudi said the visit was arranged formally through related officials who held various meetings with officials of the US and the Indonesian government.
"I chaired the meetings myself three times for preparing for the visit on September 17, October 7 and October 17, 2015.
Therefore, she said, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets the publication of an article entitled "Waiting in the White House lobby," and said the issues raised therein "are grossly inaccurate, baseless and some are bordering on fiction."
The visit of Jokowi to the United States was upon the invitation of President Obama, extended during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC 2014 Leaders' Meeting in Beijing on 10 November 2014. This invitation was then followed up by a written invitation through diplomatic channels.
Jokowi's schedule and the fact that he had to attend many urgent and important issues allowed him to avail of the invitation only on 25-27 October, 2015.
The Government of Indonesia did not employ the services of any lobbyists for the preparation of the Jokowi's visit to the US.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also never used the ministry's budget to employ a lobbyist, although the Ministry understands that lobbyists are a real part of the US political life and are frequently employed by stakeholders as well as other governments around the world to advance their interests in the United States.
Editor: Ade P Marboen
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
