Jakarta – Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Jusuf Kalla have been officially sworn in as Indonesia President and Vice President for the period of 2014-2019. As the nation's new leaders, Jokowi said he and the Vice President were committed to working diligently for the development of the nation.

Jokowi was sworn in as the seventh Indonesian president in a plenary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) led by MPR speaker Zulkifli Hasan on Monday.

"[...] I will faithfully uphold my commitments as the President of the Republic of Indonesia to work hard for the development of the nation," said Jokowi during his speech.

Jokowi also greeted the former Indonesian presidents – Baharudin Jusuf Habibie, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – who were present for the ceremony.

The former Jakarta governor also greeted Prabowo Subianto, his former rival during the July 9 presidential election.

"[...] a man whom I respect, my friend Prabowo Subianto," Jokowi said. Prabowo stood up for a brief moment after Jokowi mentioned his name and the MPR broke into applause.

Several leaders of neighboring countries, including Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and Sultan Hasanal Bolkian of Brunei Darussalam, attended the inauguration ceremony. US Secretary of State John Kerry and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda were also present. (alz/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/20/jokowi-kalla-sworn-president-and-vice-president.html