Ambassador Hery Focuses on Strengthening Economic Diplomacy in East Africa

Jakarta, MINA – Mohamad Hery Saripudin is appointed as the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Federal Republic of Somalia, Republic of Uganda, stated that he is ready to focusing on improving economic diplomacy which is intensively run by the government.

According to Hery, the potential for cooperation, especially in the economic sector between Indonesia and those countries are very large.

We need to maximize this potential to support economic diplomacy. “President Jokowi instructed that 70 to 80 percent of my tasks are to focus on economic diplomacy, “said Ambassador Hery to MINA in an exclusive interview in Jakarta, Sunday (20/9).

Apart from being the ambassador in the four East African countries, Ambassador Hery is also appointed as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia in the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Besides economic diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy is also become his focus. He said that multilateral diplomacy can also be a means to improve economic diplomacy.

“We will also increase Indonesia’s role in multilateral organizations, in this case at UNEP and UN-Habitat. This is an opportunity to improve the legal infrastructure towards economic diplomacy, “he said.

Ambassador Hery’s vision is to make the Indonesian Embassy in Nairobi be an effective and authoritative machine for Indonesian diplomacy in African region.

Mohamad Hery Saripudin is appointed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo along with 20 other ambassadors on September 14, 2020.

The appointment is contained in the Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Number 91/P 2020 dated on 11 September 2020, 92/P and 93/P of 2020 concerning the Appointment of Extraordinary Ambassador and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia.

Previously, Hery had served as a diplomat in South Africa, Canada, United States, and recently was the Indonesian Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for 3.5 years. (L/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)