ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received letters of credence from 10 extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors from friendly countries.
The presentation of the credentials was held in the Credentials Room, Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Friday, December 8 2023.
The procession for the presentation of credentials began with the playing of the national songs of each friendly country after the ambassadors arrived at the Merdeka Palace.
The 10 ambassadors from friendly countries received by President Jokowi were:
1. Sten Frimodt Nielsen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to the Republic of Indonesia;
2. Tean Samnang, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the Republic of Indonesia;
3. Serzhan Abdykarimov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Indonesia;
4. Sheikh Abdul Karim Harelimana, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the Republic of Indonesia;
5. Ameer Khurram Rathore, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Republic of Indonesia;
6. Mario Ignacio Artaza Loyola, Ambassador of the Republic of Chile to the Republic of Indonesia;
7. Khamfeuang Phanthaxay, Ambassador of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to the Republic of Indonesia;
8. Jess Dutton, Canadian Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia;
9. Sudqi Atallah Abdel Qader Al Omoush, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the Republic of Indonesia; And
10. Floréncio Mariano da Conceição e Almeida, Ambassador of the Republic of Angola to the Republic of Indonesia.
The handover of the credentials marked the start of the ambassadors’ official assignment to Indonesia.
Focus on Economic Cooperation
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi said that cooperation with this country would focus on the economic sector.
“The focus of our bilateral relations with these 10 countries will be largely focused on economic cooperation,” said Retno.
Retno explained that the trend of Indonesian trade with friendly countries has increased from year to year. Apart from that, of the 10 friendly countries, Indonesia’s trade experienced a surplus with six countries.
The largest trade volume is carried out with Pakistan and the highest investment entering Indonesia is carried out with Jordan.
“The largest trade volume carried out by these 10 countries was with Pakistan, which last year reached more than $4.5 billion. Meanwhile, in terms of investment entering Indonesia, Jordan held the highest position last year, almost $500 million,” said Retno.
Retno further said that currently Indonesia is negotiating an investment agreement with Kazakhstan. On the other hand, Indonesia’s investment with Cambodia, Jordan and Angola has increased.
Apart from economic cooperation, Retno said that there was cooperation on several other issues such as the protection of Indonesian citizens, industrial cooperation and the energy transition. For example, Indonesia is cooperation to deal with online scams with Laos and Cambodia.
“Then we are also continuing to collaborate in strategic industrial fields, especially with Pakistan and Cambodia. “Meanwhile with Denmark, we are currently developing cooperation for the energy transition,” stressed Retno.
Diplomatic Relations with Indonesia
The extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors from 10 friendly countries expressed their views on strengthening diplomatic relations with Indonesia in various fields, one of which is the economy.
Ambassador of the Republic of Chile to the Republic of Indonesia, Mario Ignacio Artaza Loyola said that Indonesia-Chile had entered into a comprehensive economic partnership agreement since 2019.
As ambassador, Mario also stated that he would carry out his responsibility to continue to strengthen the economic partnership between the two countries.
“Indonesia has 60 percent of the population under 30 years of age. “It is clear that for Chile, Indonesia is a very large market for goods, services and investment,” said Mario.
Likewise, the Canadian Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, Jess Dutton, stated that he had been given a mandate to strengthen the diplomatic relations between Canada and Indonesia which have existed for more than 70 years.
According to him, Indonesia and Canada have also collaborated in facing global challenges such as climate change, energy transition, and global peace and security.
“I know that by working together we will achieve a lot,” said Jess.
Meanwhile, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to the Republic of Indonesia, Sten Frimodt Nielsen, views that Denmark and Indonesia have great potential to strengthen cooperation in the maritime sector. This is because the land of both countries is surrounded by sea.
“If I had to take an example, maritime cooperation would be an area where I see enormous potential for our cooperation to develop further,” he said. (AT Network)
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