By Rafiq Vayani
KARACHI: 72nd anniversary of Independence Day of The Republic of Indonesia was celebrated in a grand manner at a local hotel and His Excellency Mr. Dempo Awang Yuddie, Consul General of Indonesia for Karachi hosted a grand reception held commemorate this occasion.
During his welcoming remarks His Excellency Mr. Dempo Awang Yuddie said; “he felt greatly honored to be here with all of you this evening to mark the 72nd Anniversary of the Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia and he also thanked and appreciated all present for gracing this occasion and my special thank going to Guest of Honor, His Excellency Mr. Muhammad Zubair, Governor of Sindh Province for sparing his time to attend this event”.
His Excellency Mr. DempoAwangYuddie went on say that: “since its independence 72 years ago, Indonesia has played its pivotal roles at various international forums, such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Non-Alignment Movement (NAM), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Group of 20 (G20) ),and also United Nations (UN) & its agencies”.
He further added that; “Indonesia has been consistently contributing to the efforts of achieving the principles &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 in the social, economic and humanitarian fields, and in countless endeavors to promote and strengthen international peace and security”.
speaking to the gathering, which included people from trade and business, diplomatic community and academia, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair said, “Pakistan wants to further strengthen its relationship with Indonesia, especially in trade and business.”
On the current international scenario he said that; “Indonesia is seeking support for the election of non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the period of 2019-2020, at elections to be held in New York, June 2018. This candidature is timely given the fact that Indonesia last became a member of the Council in 2007-2008”.
Going back in time he said that; “the preamble of the Indonesian Constitution 1945 stated that independence is the inalienable right of all nations, therefore, all colonialism must be abolished in this world as it is not in conformity with humanity and justice. Subsequently, Indonesia participated actively towards the establishment of a world order based on freedom, perpetual peace and social justice.The proclamation of Independence of the Republic of Indonesia in 17th August 1945 by the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, breaking the shackles of colonialism and freeing the Indonesian people from imperialism”.
Talking on history of relationship between Indonesia and Pakistan honorable Consul General went on to say that;“after two years, Pakistan also achieved its independence in 14th August 1947 and it is not an exaggeration to say that Pakistan and Indonesia are two brotherly countries that have been enjoying excellent and long standing relations. Indonesia is one of the first few countries that recognized Pakistan’s independence and opened its first representative office in October 1947 in Karachi the capital city of Pakistan at that time just two months after the establishment of Pakistan. While Pakistan opened its embassy in Jakarta in 1950”.
He stressed that brotherly relations existed were even before independence; “since before the two countries became independent, the two founding fathers, Soekarno and Quaid Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah have been working together in the struggle 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 Mr. Muhammad Ali Bogra, the Prime Minister of Pakistan joined as a basic member of this conference.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”.
Talking on current relationship between Indonesia and Pakistan honorable ConsulGeneral said that; “during the last two years, there have been high profiles visits from Pakistan, including President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain who attended the OIC Extraordinary Summit in Jakarta in March 2016, followed by other important visits including that of Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy and Chairman Senate. In addition, a number of Parliamentary delegations and trade groups visited Indonesia. Similarly, a number of Indonesia Parliamentary delegation and business group have visited Pakistan”.
Trade has also boosted a lot and honorable ConsulGeneral said that: “Indonesia has been an important trading partner of Pakistan. Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Indonesia has increased, and Indonesia has become the 4th largest import destination of Pakistan. I am quite happy with the positive result that has been reached by Indonesia and Pakistan, especially through the performance of our trade relations. Hopefully, our trade volume could reach US$ 2.5 billion by the end of 2017. In this regards, I would like to convey the highly appreciation to all stake holders for the commitment and effort to increase our bilateral trade”.
On concluding noteHis Excellency Mr. DempoAwangYuddie, Consul General of Indonesia for Karachi said that: “on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as myself, we would like to extend our warm congratulations and sincere best wishes on the happy occasion of the 70th Anniversary of Independence of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 14th August 2017. We sincerely pray to the Al-Mighty Allah for the people and government of Pakistan, well-being, peace and progress, as well as prosperity, solidarity and integrity for the great country of Pakistan”.
