Italian Navy Chief Meets Indonesian President, Strengthens Cooperation with Aircraft Carrier Handover

Chief of The Italian Navy Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday (24/9). According to CNNIndonesia.com, Giuseppe arrived around 1:05 PM Western Indonesian Time, accompanied by several other Italian military personnel. They were seen wearing white Italian military uniforms and full suits. Assistant to the Presidential Secretary, Letkol Teddy Indra Wijaya, confirmed the visit, stating, "Yes, we received the Chief of the Italian Navy," on Thursday (24/9). Their visit coincided with Italy's official handover of the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi to Indonesia in a ceremony held in Jakarta on Thursday (24/9). During the handover ceremony, Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), General Agus Subiyanto, officially inaugurated the renaming of the former ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi from Italy to KRI Sriwijaya-100. The aircraft carrier will now join the Indonesian Navy fleet. "I, General TNI Agus Subiyanto, Commander of TNI, hereby officially declare KRI Sriwijaya-100 into the TNI Navy fleet," Agus said during the inauguration in North Jakarta. At the same event, Agus also appointed Colonel Laut (P) Mochamad Fuad Hasan as the Commander of KRI Sriwijaya-100. Agus stated that the presence of KRI Sriwijaya in the Indonesian Navy fleet is a manifestation of the modernization of TNI's defense equipment, possessing reliable capabilities as a naval operation command center.