FIRST LADY PLEDGES TO PROMOTE W JAVANESE BATIK

Jakarta Forum - Cirebon, W Java, Indonesian First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and cabinet members` spouses had pledged to promote the West Javanese batik.

The first lady echoed her promise to 250 batik makers attending an event to mark the preservation of batik as the nation`s cultural heritage here Tuesday.

"We are here not only to meet you because we love batik but also to support Cirebon and West Java`s economy. Insya Allah (God`s will), we go shopping," she said.

Ani Yudhoyono left Jakarta on Tuesday for Cirebon, West Java, to attend the event and visited some batik centers.

Along with spouses of cabinet members and foreign ambassadors, and senior editors of selected media, the First Lady took a special train from Gambir station on Tuesday at 7 am.

More than 200 people accompanying the First Lady are required to wear batik dresses.

Among the top officials attending the occasion were West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan and Minister for Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik.

"All coming here are bosses. May their pockets get thick," Ani Yudhoyono said.

She said she would help promote the West Javanese batik because its motives remained less popular than those of Yogyakarta or Solo, Central Java.

Along with the spouses of top government officials and ambassadors, she said she also wanted to motivate West Java`s batik makers to keep moving ahead and strengthen their families` economy.

At the occasion, Minister for Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik persuaded the cabinet members` spouses to go shopping at local batik centers.

"This is the biggest tour I have joint over the past one hundred days. The spouses of ambassadors, cabinet members and businessmen are on board of five train carriages."

"If they buy nothing, it means that they just give empty promise of preserving our batik," Wacik said.

As part of the programs, the First Lady also witnessed batik making, and visited the West Java Batik Foundation`s stall and Batik Trusmi village.

After that, Ani Yudhoyono and her entourage returned to Jakarta by the same train.

Indonesian batik has been recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage since October 2009.

Since then, the popularity of this Indonesians traditional textile tends to rise among Indonesians and foreigners.

Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu recently said batik could even enliven Indonesia`s brand image in the world.

According to the Trade Ministry, Indonesian batik exports in the 2004-2008 period showed a positive trend except in 2005.

Indonesia gained 34.2 million US dollars from its batik exports in 2004 but the amount declined to 12.43 million dollars in 2005.

The income steadily increased in 2006. In 2008, batik textiles contributed 32.27 million dollars to the country`s income.

Among the main markets of Indonesian batik are the United States, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

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