President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, at a time when the city is on high alert following a series of deadly terrorist attacks, has left a strong impression on his cabinet ministers who joined him on Monday.
Two days prior to his visit, a bomb hidden in an ambulance exploded in Kabul, killing at least 103 people and injuring over 200 more. However, the incident did not deter the President who decided to proceed with the visit following his trip to Bangladesh to complete his South Asian tour.
“The president has no fear,” tweeted Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung on Monday.
Pramono, who joined the entourage, shared his account of the visit via his official Twitter account @pramonoanung. He shared with his nearly 1 million followers on Twitter that the Indonesian delegation was accompanied by intensified security provided by Afghanistan authorities.
After touching down in Jakarta on Tuesday morning, Jokowi’s aides recalled that tensions were high as they entered the country over fears of other possible attacks.
Pramono tweeted that coordinator for presidential staff Teten Masduki forgot to bring an extra jacket to brace for the icy cold weather in Kabul.
“Teten was so tense, he forgot to bring warm clothes. He wore an airplane blanket to brace for the cold making the [local people] think he was a cleric from Indonesia,” he tweeted on Tuesday along with photos showing Teten using a red blanket as a scarf.
Pramono also shared that after the group was back on board the presidential airplane after the six-hour visit, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and the head of presidential security detail Maj. Gen. Suhartono conducted sujud syukur (prostration of thankfulness) on the airplane floor.
“Thank God the President’s visit to Kabul went smoothly,” Retno said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.
