The Importance of Indonesia to The world
- Biro Pers, Media dan Informasi Sekretariat Presiden
VIVA – The Indonesian President, Joko Widodo has received letters of credence from eleven ambassadors of extraordinary and plenipotentiary (LBPP) of friendly countries. The handover took place at the Credentials Room, Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.
Several ambassadors expressed their views on Indonesia's role in the global and their desire to improve bilateral relations and cooperation between their countries and Indonesia in various fields.
Olivier Zehnder, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation to the Republic of Indonesia, consider Indonesia as one of the countries that play a major role in world politics and economics, which can be seen from its role as President of the G20 last year and Chair of ASEAN in 2023.
Zehnder also assessed that the diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Switzerland have been running very well, “We have more than 70 years of diplomatic relations, 50 years of economic cooperation, we are now implementing our free trade agreement between Switzerland and Indonesia and its implementation is very promising,”
"I think my main goal as ambassador in Indonesia is to build on this strong framework and to show, underline once again, that Switzerland is an innovative, reliable, and pragmatic partner, and if I may summarize: Indonesia and Switzerland together we can," Zehnder stated.
President Jokowi poses for a group photo with Olivier Zehnder
- Setkab.go.id
Then, Abdulmonem Annan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Republic of Indonesia, assessed that Indonesia's leadership in the world makes Indonesia currently have a position among strong countries. He also hopes that Indonesia's role at the global level can continue to increase in the future.
"I love Indonesia as a nation and as a government. What is very interesting to me is the political vision and high rationality of its leadership that has brought Indonesia to its current position among the most powerful countries in the world. We hope and wish that Indonesia will continue to rise to the top five in the world, God willing," the Syrian Arab Ambassador explained.
Meanwhile, Jayanath Siri Kumara, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Indonesia, said that Indonesia and Sri Lanka are two good friends in history. According to him, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have established diplomatic relations since 1952 and in 1955 jointly held the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung.
"We have a great tradition of working together and in the 21st century, these are two countries that are very important and strategic in sea trade, in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. So, I hope we can develop working connectivity not only for our two countries but also for the whole world," Kumara said.
Stella Bezirtzoglou, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Greece to the Republic of Indonesia, assessed that Indonesia and Greece have many similarities, including that both countries are peaceful and stable in the region, and both have thousands of islands.
As ambassador, Bezirtzoglou is also determined to improve diplomatic relations between Greece and Indonesia.
"First of all, we want to strengthen our political relations. This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Greek Embassy in Jakarta and also the 30th anniversary of the Indonesian Embassy in Athens. Also, we will strengthen our relationship through trade and we hope that our port will be a point for Indonesia to export its products in the European Union and Europe," Ambassador Stella said.
