Megawati Soekarnoputri meets Qatari Ambassador at her residence

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s fifth president and PDIP general chair, Megawati Soekarnoputri, received the Qatari Ambassador to Indonesia, Sultan bin Mubarak Al-Dosari, at her residence in Menteng, Jakarta, on Monday. In a written statement received by ANTARA, Megawati was accompanied by her son, who is also the PDIP Deputy Chairman M. Prananda Prabowo, PDIP Deputy Chairman Ahmad Basarah, and the head of PDIP’s Research and Policy Analysis Agency, Andi Widjajanto. Before beginning the dialogue, Megawati introduced Prananda Prabowo to the Qatari Ambassador. “This is my son,” said Megawati with a smile. The two-hour meeting proceeded warmly and concluded with an exchange of souvenirs. Megawati presented a miniature of Borobudur Temple and a Pinisi boat, which is a traditional wooden sailing ship characteristic of Indonesia, particularly from the Bugis tribe. “This is the Pinisi ship, characteristic of Indonesia,” said Megawati. Meanwhile, the Qatari Ambassador presented a collection of flowers and a book titled Qatar, Between Land and Sea, Through Arts and Heritage. The book is a documentation that narrates Qatar’s cultural richness, history, and arts, focusing on the close relationship between its people and the desert (land) and sea. “I am pleased to meet and dialogue directly with Mrs Megawati. I am impressed with the painting collection here,” said the Qatari Ambassador while pointing to a painting of Megawati. At the start of the dialogue, the Qatari Ambassador also stated that Indonesia’s first president, Soekarno, who is also Megawati’s father, is very well-known in the Middle East. “The Qatari Ambassador said that the names of Mrs Megawati and President Soekarno are popular in Qatar because the wife of the Emir of Qatar and the sister of the Emir of Qatar, who is a historian, have extensively studied Indonesian history,” said Ahmad Basarah after the meeting. Basarah explained that Megawati is the first national figure visited by the Qatari Ambassador besides President Prabowo. “In the meeting, the Qatari Ambassador invited Mrs Megawati to dine at the ambassador’s residence. Additionally, he invited Mrs Megawati to come to Qatar,” he said. Basarah conveyed that the Qatari Ambassador expressed his admiration for reading the content of Megawati’s speech when receiving an honorary doctorate from Princess Nourah University (PNU) in Riyadh, which is the world’s largest women’s university, in February 2024. The ambassador stated that the Qatari government aligns with Megawati’s thoughts on women’s equality because, as a Middle Eastern country, it has appointed women as ministers.