REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SURABAYA -- Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said she has received invitation from King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to be a speaker in Medina. She was scheduled to deliver a speech on May 9 to 10.

Risma said King Salman invited her in the framework of an internal event held by the government of Saudi Arabia. Risma was asked to convey her experience on the state's welfare.

"The main points that I will discuss are about what I've been doing in Surabaya, such as how to handle and serve the poor and needy people," Risma explained.

Risma did not know the reason King Salman chose Surabaya. However, she believed there was an important reason behind the decision.

"Maybe there are foreign people who ever visited Surabaya and told many things about this city and also about my self as a mayor," Risma added.

Furthermore, Risma said during her visit abroad, she would not spend the money from official travel budget. She revealed that the current official travel budget of Rp 7 billion would be beneficial to be used for educational development purposes.

"I'm often invited to events abroad and never paid for it because all of the expenses were paid by the organizers," Risma said.

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