This is a good opportunity to work together for a future relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands. I am very grateful that most members of the Dutch cabinet are here with me
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received a keris that once belonged to Prince Diponegoro from the King and Queen of the Netherlands during their visit to Indonesia.

The lost treasure of Diponegoro, a Javanese prince, who opposed the Dutch colonial rule in the 1800s, was brought by King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti to the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday, when they meet with President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana.

After a joint statement, President Jokowi and King Willem Alexander, accompanied by their spouses, came to see the keris displayed in a glass case.

The golden keris was placed not far from the podium where the president and the king delivered their speeches.

Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim elaborated on the keris both to President Jokowi and King Willem Alexander.

The keris was reportedly lost and finally found at the Volkenkunde Museum, Leiden, the Netherlands---after a lengthy comprehensive study that was also strengthened by theories from experts of both nations.

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The keris was earlier seized by the Dutch Government during the capture of Prince Diponegoro after the great war during the 1825-1830 period.

Colonel Jan-Baptist Cleerens then gave Prince Diponegoro's keris as a gift to King Willem I in 1831.

The existence of the keris had become a mystery after the Koninklijk Cabinet van Zeldzaamheden (KKZ) broke up. KKZ was a special collection place for the cabinet of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The state visit of the King and Queen of the Netherlands offered the right momentum and opportunity for the Dutch Government to return the heirloom to Indonesia.

"This is a good opportunity to work together for a future relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands. I am very grateful that most members of the Dutch cabinet are here with me," King Willem Alexander noted in a joint press statement with President Jokowi at the Bogor Palace.

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Translator: Hanni Sofia/Yashinta Difa Pram
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