Through Culture, Indonesia-Russia Have Great Opportunities in Economic Cooperation
Jakarta, MINA – Mohammad Wahid Supriyadi, who recently ended his duties as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to the Russian Federation concurrently the Republic of Belarus revealed that there are great opportunities for economic cooperation between Indonesia and Russia through culture.
It was stated by Ambassador Wahid during a special interview with the MINA team in Jakarta during the Ambassador Talks program on Saturday in Jakarta.
According to the former Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), not many people know that Russia, a nation that really loves and values culture.
Early in his assignment in Moscow, on his way he had seen queues snaking to enter a building. Previously, he thought it was a line to watch a film, theater, or music concert. However, it turned out to be a queue for the museum.
“I was very impressed! I think these people want to see a movie, theater or concert. However, they turned out to be queuing to enter the museum, ”Wahid told MINA.
In addition, in the book he read entitled “Russia: A 1000-Year Chronicle of the Wild East” by BBC journalist Martin Sixsmith, he said that Russians have a very strong culture. Even during difficult times, Russia gave birth to many great artists and humanists.
Seeing the Russian people’s love for culture, the diplomat who graduated from UGM English Literature considered that a cultural approach is the most appropriate to be used as a bridge in bonding the relations between the two nations.
Therefore, he initiated the Indonesian Festival (FI) which was held by the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow for four times in a row from 2016-2019.
On that occasion, not only Indonesian arts and culture were presented at the event, but also trade, investment, as well as interactions between individuals.
In 2019, the number of visitors who attended during the three days of FI implementation reached 117 thousand people, the value of transactions at the location reached USD 10.7 million. In addition, there is also an investment commitment of USD 1.2 billion for the construction of a tapioca factory in Indonesia.
As a result, the Indonesian Festival was awarded the Indonesian World Record Museum (MURI) because it was held for four consecutive times. Ambassador Wahid also received a Primaduta Award in the Potential Export Market category at the Indonesian Trade Expo at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition – ICE BSD City, Tangerang on September 16, 2019.
The Honorary Professor from Tomsk State University, Russia also claims that cultural diplomacy through FI is also a bridge for relations in the economic, trade and investment sectors of the two countries.
“I see a cultural approach as the most effective way to bring the two countries closer together, because culture is actually very broad. We can talk about economy, trade, investment, ”he said.
Ambassador Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi began his tenure as Ambassador in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus from April 2016 until the end of his assignment in June 2020.
The real results of the implementation of economic diplomacy at the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow under the leadership of Ambassador Wahid are reflected, among others, in the increase in the number of Russian tourist visits to Indonesia, which reached almost 100% from 2016 to 2019.
Meanwhile, Indonesian export products to Russia have experienced an increase in quality with the inclusion of several beauty equipment or machines and ships made by Indonesian companies in Banyuwangi into Indonesian export items to Russia. (L / RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
