JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday held his cabinet meeting on the holiday island of Bali in a bid to reassure visitors that there is nothing to worry about from the rumbling Mount Agung volcano. “For those who have plans to vacation in Bali, there’s no need to doubt or be worried about the status of Mount Agung, Bali is very safe to visit,” Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan said in a Twitter message after visiting an observatory overlooking the volcano, before the cabinet meeting. President Widodo is expected to make a statement after the cabinet meeting. The relatively small island of Bali, famous for its beaches and temples, has an outsized importance for Indonesian tourism. In January-September, Bali received 4.5 million foreign tourist arrivals, nearly half of the 10.5 million arrivals in Indonesia.

Source: New Strait Times December 22, 2017 08:48 UTC