New Indonesian capital to be called Nusantara

President Joko Widodo (left) is seen visiting the site of the new Indonesian capital near Sepaku in East Kalimantan in this file picture from Dec 17, 2019. - AFP

JAKARTA (Xinhua): Indonesian President Joko Widodo has chosen Nusantara, or archipelago in English, as the name of the new national capital to be built on the country's Kalimantan island, a senior government official said Monday (Jan 17).

"I just received a direct confirmation from the president on Friday (Jan 14) and he said the new capital is named Nusantara," the country's National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa said during a meeting with the special committee for the new capital city's establishment at the House of Representatives in Central Jakarta.