Indonesia President Joko Widodo will be rocking out over this diplomatic gift.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen became the hero of the day when he gifted heavy metal group Metallica’s new “Master of Puppets” vinyl box set to his political counterpart.
Nothing else mattered to 56-year-old metal fan Widodo after he received the present during an official summit at the presidential palace in Bogor on Tuesday. Widodo saw Metallica in concert in Jakarta in 2013.
No doubt Widodo will now give the gift, which was also signed by the band’s Danish-born drummer Lars Ulrich, a welcome home.
“Prime Minister Rasmussen understands my favorite [music],” said Widodo, per The Jakarta Post. Rasmussen tweeted that Widodo “seemed eager to dig into” the collection, which was released earlier this month.
It’s sad but true that some diplomatic souvenirs can be deemed boring, such as U.S. President Barack Obama’s gift of 25 classic American movies to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Rasmussen appeared to be equally thrilled with Widodo’s present of a traditional dagger.
Ulrich said the presentation of his group’s music to Widodo was “way cool.”
“Music really does connect people!!!” he added on Instagram.
