REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia jointly organized a seminar on “Getting India Right: How Indonesia can harness Strategic and Economic Opportunities” on 3rd October 2014 in Nusantara Hall in Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to a statement from Embassy of India in Jakarta, the speakers included H.E. Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Vice Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Ambassador of India to Indonesia Shri Gurjit Singh and Meidyatama Suryadiningrat, Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Jakarta Post’. Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, in his opening remarks, said that Indonesia and India should forge a new relationship on the basis of technology and that it should look ahead in the future rather than harp about the past.
He said that India is presently not in the perspective of Indonesian businessmen and this situation needs to be corrected.
Ambassador Gurjit Singh said that India’s engagement with Indonesia is multi-pronged and that an understanding between both countries to discuss ‘response to common challenges’ is most important. He said that the relationship will remain incomplete if it is only between the governments of the two countries. It should broaden to include cooperation at the level of people, academicians and businessmen.
He called for partnership between parliamentarians, provincial governments and cities of two countries. Ambassador Singh said that India has made appreciable investments in Indonesia and exhorted Indonesian businessmen to invest in India.
Suryodiningrat, Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Jakarta Post’ touched upon significant potential for Indonesia and India to cooperate in the fields of Indo-Pacific Maritime Security, education, counter-terrorism and development of smart cities to address the challenges of rapid urbanization.
A panel discussion was held after the opening remarks in which . Naveen Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Godrej Indonesia; Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, Vice Chairwomen, employers’ Association of Indonesia; and . Arto Suryodipura, Director for Asia Pacific and African Intra-regional Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia participated. Hazairin Pohan, Program Director, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia moderated the discussion.
Naveen Gupta recounted his experience of adapting to Indonesian culture and said that two countries can engage in various sectors like tourism, medical tourism and automotive industries.
While mentioning that both the countries share similar economic concerns, Shinta highlighted that the new Governments in both countries share similar vision on increased budget for education and infrastructure development, reduction of subsidies and more open trade and investment policies. Suryodipura spoke about Indian Ocean Rim Association in which India and Indonesia are cooperating together.
He said that Indian navy was fast developing capabilities to guard the Indian Ocean and it is in the interest of Indonesia and India to keep the Indian Ocean free of conflict and join hands in combating piracy and carrying out joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The audience included diplomats, prominent businessmen, academicians, university students and journalists. The seminar gave platform to Indian and Indonesian sides to articulate their views on how to enhance bilateral trade, investment and people to people contact.
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