Indonesia inaugurates 2024 Flag-Raising Troop at IKN State Palace

Nusantara, Aug 13 (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), on Tuesday, inaugurated the 2024 Central-level Flag-Raising Troop (Paskibraka) at the State Palace, Nusantara Capital City (IKN), East Kalimantan.

During the inauguration, the president acted as the ceremony inspector.

The procession began with the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, or Indonesia the Great, being sung.

Meanwhile, Head of the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP), Yudian Wahyudi, recited the 2024 Paskibraka Pledge, where the troop members followed him.

Wahyudi urged the 2024 Paskibraka troop member from Medan, North Sumatra, Violetha Agryka Sianturi, who acted as the ceremony leader, to hold the Red and White Flag with her right hand and place it on her left chest.

After reading the pledge, Wahyudi told Sianturi to release the flag. Next, he ordered her to hold it again with both hands and kiss the flag.

The event continued with an inauguration statement read by President Jokowi.

"With God's blessing, I hereby inaugurate the 2024 Central Paskibraka, which will serve at the State Palace in IKN Nusantara on August 17. May God Almighty bestow grace and ease in carrying out the country's duties," he stated.

President Jokowi then pinned badges and fabric belts on the Paskibraka members as a symbol of their inauguration.

For the first time ever, Indonesia's future capital city will host a ceremony marking the country's Independence Day anniversary on August 17, 2024. President Joko Widodo is scheduled to preside over the event.

A similar ceremony, planned to be chaired by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, will take place in Jakarta on the same day.

Earlier, a top government official stated that the first ceremony and celebration of the 79th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia in its new capital city Nusantara, East Kalimantan, signifies the country's progress towards becoming an advanced nation.

"This is a symbol towards an advanced Indonesia with the target of completing the capital transfer by 2045," Communication and Informatics Ministry's Director General of Public Communication and Information, Usman Kansong, stated on August 10.