Indonesia celebrates 79th Independence Day in new capital Nusantara

Indonesia on Saturday held celebration ceremonies for the country's 79th independence anniversary at the newly inaugurated capital Nusantara. The major national flag-hoisting ceremony that took place at the State Palace in the new capital was attended by President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, and President-elect Prabowo Subianto, according to Antara News. The ceremony was also broadcast at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, where Vice President Ma'ruf Amin and Jokowi's eldest son and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka were in attendance. Indonesia declared its independence from the Netherlands on Aug. 17, 1945. This year, the theme of the Independence Day is "New Nusantara, Advanced Indonesia." Last month, Widodo officially began working from Nusantara. However, the official inauguration of the new capital was set on the country's Independence Day. Over 80% of the infrastructure work for the first phase of the $32 billion capital city project has been completed.