KARACHI – Indonesia is keen to boost her economic relations with Pakistanin the coming years — at the governments and private sectors level, andalso at the level of individuals.
The exchange of business delegations is a good evidence on how much thetrade and investment ties between Indonesia and Pakistan are excellent andare increasing with passage of time, said Consul General of Indonesia inKarachi, Totok Prianamto.
He was speaking a ceremony in line with the Independence day of Republic ofIndonesia, which was attended by diplomats, politicians and other prominentfigures of the city, said press release on Monday.
The Consul General said Indonesia also had promising potentials in thetourism industry, characterized by the charm of its nature and the richnessof its culture. It was considered as a piece of heaven.
Pakistan and Indonesia have been enjoying excellent and long standingrelations. Indonesia is one of the first few countries who recognizedPakistan’s independence and opened its first Representative Office inOctober 1947 in Karachi, then the capital city of Pakistan. Pakistan openedits embassy in Jakarta in 1950.
He said these strong historical bonds and friendly relationship could serveas a foundation to further strengthen the bilateral relations and should betransformed into mutually rewarding partnership in the years ahead,particularly in trade, economic and socio-cultural relations.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit to Pakistan in January 2018reflected this spirit of strengthening the cooperation and friendship ofboth countries. During the visit ,the President focused on three majorbilateral issues— namely economic cooperation, inter-community relationsand cooperation for Palestine issue.
Strategic location of Pakistan is very important for economic cooperationamong all the countries of the region. That’s why Pakistan offered alogistics route for Indonesian investors who could not only tap the localmarket, but also capitalize on the export potential of Pakistan by usingthe economic corridor.
The founding fathers of both the countries– Soekarno and Quaid-i- AzamMohammad Ali Jinnah, had struggled together to liberate their respectivecountries. Both countries also shared their struggle against colonialismthrough the forum of Asia-Africa Conference which was established in 1955in Bandung Indonesia, where then Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad AliBogra joined as a basic member of this conference.
He expressed his pleasure over the increasing number of Pakistani touriststo Indonesia. And, that Indonesian missions would also encourage theirpeople to visit Pakistan.
He pledged to work together to further cement the relationship between thepeople of Indonesia and Pakistan, especially in the province of Sindh, toknow each other much better and share the best practices and progress forthe benefits of our nations and the countries.
Moreover, the Indonesia Consulate here had encouraged and supported someinitiatives to enhance relations and cooperation between the two countriesespecially in the field of education and social culture, he said.
Since the Independence, Indonesia had been playing its pivotal roles atvarious international fora. It has been consistently contributing towardsachieving the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter inmaintaining international peace and security.
Indonesia has also been participating actively in the programs andactivities of the United Nations on social, economic and humanitarianfronts. It managed to get support to be one of the non-permanent members ofUnited Nations Security Council for the period of 2019-2020 through theelections held in New York, June 2018. In the past, it had become a memberof the Council for 2007-2008. – APP