Indonesia and Nigeria share many things as they are both heavily populated and have multi religious and ethnic backgrounds. In this interview with EZRA IJIOMA, the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Sudirman Haseng, talks about areas of cooperation between the two countries and how his country is managing its many diversities. Excerpts
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF?
I am a career diplomat having joined the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982. Before coming to Nigeria in October 2010, I have postings in Indonesian embassies in Japan and Kuwait, and the Indonesian Consulate in Penang, Malaysia. I was born in 1962 and have four children. I have a master degree in political economy and have lots of experience in dealing with many issues especially economic and regional affairs, including African affairs during my posting in Tokyo in 1990-1994 where I worked with Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD).
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HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING NIGERIA?
I am happy to say that before coming to Nigeria I had visited this country three times. I have also visited almost half of the countries in Africa. So I have quite enough knowledge about Nigeria, including its diversity, culture and potentials. When I arrived, I didn’t have any difficulty to adjust and settle in Nigeria including my family. I like the way of life here because it is dynamic. You can feel the dynamism and energy Nigerians possess and this is quite impressive. I like Nigerian foods especially pepper soup and yam.
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WHAT IS THE THRUST OF INDONESIA/NIGERIA FOREIGN RELATIONS?
Nigeria and Indonesia have similarities in many ways such as in history, traditions, cultures, abundance of natural resources and enormous population. In the past, Nigeria and Indonesia were under colonialism and were exploited for hundreds of years. The founding fathers of the two nations had to struggle for the independence of their countries. The spirit of Independence, which rose from the Bandung Declaration of 1955, as a result of the Asian African Conference, brought a lot of Asian and African countries toward freedom and independence. This became the foundation for the two nations to establish diplomatic relations in 1965.
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WHAT OTHER AREAS OF CO-OPERATION EXIST BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES?
The two countries should co-operate in as many areas as possible and currently trade and investment remain the key areas. The two governments have signed many documents such as Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation signed in Jakarta [capital of Indonesia] in 2000 and the Memorandum of Understanding? (MoU) on Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation signed in New York [USA] in 2010. Next, we will further optimise the cooperation combating illicit production and trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, the energy and mineral resources, agriculture, education, aviation, health, sports, counter-terrorism, human-rights and youth. The state visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to Indonesia should materialize this year and I hope it will become the cornerstone for increased cooperation between Nigeria and Indonesia in all fields.
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WHAT WAS THE VOLUME OF TRADE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES IN 2011 AND WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THEIR ECONOMIC TIES?
Trade between the two countries has reached US$ 1.24 billion in 2010, and was expected to reach US$ 1.5 billion at the end of 2011. The trade is in favor of Nigeria but it’s still dominated by oil and gas which is 56 per cent of total trade value. There are many Indonesian companies in Nigeria since 1990s such as PT. Indofood Sukses Makmur which produces Indomie Noodles; PT. Indorama Synthetic Tbk; PT. Kalbe Farma Tbk (Pharmaceuticals); PT. Sayap Mas Utama of Wings Group (detergents); PT. Jakarana Tama; PT. Era Mandiri Brothers; De-Mastering Technology Service Ltd; Magnet Integred; Media Pro and Global Service Ltd; Eurochem Indonesia; Dexa Medica (Pharmaceuticals); Menjangan Sakti (Mensa) Group; Sanbe Pharmaceuticals; Nutri-food Indonesia (beverages) and others.
Recently, the Bakrie Group from Indonesia signed an MoU worth $1bn for investments in many areas in Nigeria such as agriculture and mining.
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WHERE DO YOU SEE NIGERIA/INDONESIA TRADE IN THE NEXT YEAR?
Considering Nigeria and Indonesia have many similarities and potentials, I do believe that our two countries could partner and cooperate to further bolster our relations. So I have a quite big expectation to do my utmost to bring the two countries working together for the benefit and betterment of our peoples. We have lots of similarities in terms of cultural and ethnic diversity, natural resources, large populations, as well as struggle for independence from colonialists. In other words, we have enough ingredients that we need to combine and integrate to develop our countries and continents.? After one year and three months of staying in Nigeria, our achievements are beyond my expectation, especially after signing the MoU of Joint Bilateral Commission that provides room for us to work together.
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WHAT AREAS OF NIGERIA/INDONESIA RELATIONS WOULD YOU WANT IMPROVED?
The trade between the two countries will increase next year because many Nigerian businessmen had already seen first hand the potential business opportunities in Indonesia. And on the other hand, I had implemented the programme of visit by Indonesian businessmen which I called Safari Business Meeting, and I will organize the visit of Indonesian Minister of Trade to Nigeria to improve the trade relations between the two countries.
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INDONESIA LIKE NIGERIA IS A MULTI-ETHNIC NATION, BUT IT HAS MANAGED TO ADDRESS ETHNIC CONFLICTS AND DIFFERENCES TO A GOOD MEASURE AND BUILT A THRIVING SOCIO-ECONOMIC NATION. WHAT LESSONS CAN NIGERIA LEARN FROM INDONESIA ON THIS?
In our state emblem, there is a writing Bhinneka Tunggal Ika which means ‘Unity in Diversity’. Indonesia, similar to Nigeria, has about 250 ethnic groups and languages, but during the Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, there was a sense of togetherness due to the oppression and a might to fight for independence. In 1908, the spirit of nationalism had appeared and in 1928 Indonesian youths had declared Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge) that became the seed of unity and oneness among tribes in Indonesia. Currently, the problem of religious and ethnic differences in Indonesia have been managed through the promotion of tolerance and increased incomes for the people and implementing many programmes such as inter-faith dialogue etc. Religious and community leaders are keys to creating harmony in religious life in Indonesia. For that, the Indonesian government was always involving religious and community leaders to formulate and adopt policies related to inter-religious relations. I hope Nigeria should do same.
Indonesia has one national language that is Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). The language is derived from a small tribe in Indonesia (Malay).
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