Indonesia keen to boost relations with Pakistan at all tiers: Totok

KARACHI: Indonesia is keen to boost her economic relations with Pakistan in the coming years -- at the governments and private sectors level, and also at the level of individuals.

The exchange of business delegations is a good evidence on how much the trade and investment ties between Indonesia and Pakistan are excellent and are increasing with passage of time, said Consul General of Indonesia in Karachi, Totok Prianamto.

He was speaking a ceremony in line with the Independence day of Republic of Indonesia, which was attended by diplomats, politicians and other prominent figures of the city, said press release on Monday.

The Consul General said Indonesia also had promising potentials in the tourism industry, characterized by the charm of its nature and the richness of its culture. It was considered as a piece of heaven.

Pakistan and Indonesia have been enjoying excellent and long standing relations. Indonesia is one of the first few countries who recognized Pakistan's independence and opened its first Representative Office in October 1947 in Karachi, then the capital city of Pakistan. Pakistan opened its embassy in Jakarta in 1950.

He said these strong historical bonds and friendly relationship could serve as a foundation to further strengthen the bilateral relations and should be transformed 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 2018 reflected this spirit of strengthening the cooperation and friendship of both countries. During the visit ,the President focused on three major bilateral issues--- namely economic cooperation, inter-community relations and cooperation for Palestine issue.

Strategic location of Pakistan is very important for economic cooperation among all the countries of the region. That's why Pakistan offered a logistics route for Indonesian investors who could not only tap the local market, but also capitalize on the export potential of Pakistan by using the economic corridor.

The founding fathers of both the countries-- Soekarno and Quaid-i- Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, had struggled together to liberate their respective countries. Both countries also shared their struggle against colonialism through the forum of Asia-Africa Conference which was established in 1955 in Bandung Indonesia, where then Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Bogra joined as a basic member of this conference.

He expressed his pleasure over the increasing number of Pakistani tourists to Indonesia. And, that Indonesian missions would also encourage their people to visit Pakistan.

He pledged to work together to further cement the relationship between the people of Indonesia and Pakistan, especially in the province of Sindh, to know each other much better and share the best practices and progress for the benefits of our nations and the countries.

Moreover, the Indonesia Consulate here had encouraged and supported some initiatives to enhance relations and cooperation between the two countries especially in the field of education and social culture, he said.

Since the Independence, Indonesia had been playing its pivotal roles at various international fora. It has been consistently contributing towards achieving the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter in maintaining international peace and security.

Indonesia has also been participating actively in the programs and activities of the United Nations on social, economic and humanitarian fronts. It managed to get support to be one of the non-permanent members of United Nations Security Council for the period of 2019-2020 through the elections held in New York, June 2018. In the past, it had become a member of the Council for 2007-2008.