TANJUNGPINANG – With the spirit of “Ambassador Sharing to Campus”, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Agency for Policy Assessment and Development (BPPK) in collaboration with the Research Institute for Community Service and Quality Assurance (LP3M), Raja Ali Haji Maritime University (UMRAH) Tanjungpinang, held a Forum Debriefing of the Head of Indonesian Republics Representative in virtual. Monday (9/11)
On this occasion, M. Basri Sidehabi (Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar for the 2016-2020 period) and Ahmad Rusdi (the Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand for the 2016-2020 period) shared their experiences as Head of Representative in accredited countries, besides that they also conveyed various potential work the same which the Government of Indonesia can still unearth
The forum was opened by the Head of P2K2 Asia Pacific and Africa BPPK, Dyah Lestari Asmarani with UMRAH Rector, Prof. Dr. Agung Dhamar Syakti, S.Pi., DEA. Moderated by Dede Ahmad Rifai (Associate Expert Diplomat, P3K2 Aspasaf BPPK) and Dhani Akbar S.S., M.A (Lecturer at the International Relations Department, FISIP UMRAH) as the initiator of the discussion
On this occasion, Ambassador M. Basri Sidehabi shared information regarding bilateral relations and cooperation between Indonesia and Qatar as well as his experiences when he was the Head of Representative at the Indonesian Embassy in Doha.
From the trade aspect, Indonesia experienced a deficit due to the sizeable oil and gas imports from Qatar, but Indonesia’s exports continued to increase to reach USD123.14 million in 2019, an increase of around 77.35% from the previous year. The political situation in the Gulf region, which has recently been turbulent, is a challenge to the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Qatar
Indonesia needs to find a balance in maintaining relations with Qatar so as not to have a bad impact on relations with other Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Ambassador Ahmad Rusdi in his presentation conveyed the ins and outs of government in the Kingdom of Thailand and the journey of bilateral relations between Indonesia and Thailand. 70 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Thailand have actually existed since the days of the Majapahit and Sriwijaya Kingdoms.
The form of a well-developed relationship between the two is carried out by supporting each other in international forums, defense cooperation, education, and so on. Trade and investment economic cooperation is also growing rapidly. Indonesia is the number 8 trading partner for Thailand and Thailand is the number 10 source country for investment in Indonesia
Thailand is one of the countries in ASEAN that has been successful in reducing Covid-19 by implementing strict health protocols. Until now, the number of positive figures has reached approximately 3837 with only 60 deaths
The Debriefing Forum was attended by at least 350 participants consisting of lecturers and students from UMRAH and other universities, State-Owned Enterprises, the media, Indonesian representatives abroad, and various related work units at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The participants seemed very enthusiastic in following the forum. In the question and answer session, participants actively explore information related to cooperation opportunities from the Ambassadors who were present as resource persons. This shows that the Debriefing forum apart from being a forum for sharing experiences and knowledge of Ambassadors, can also bridge cooperation between universities and business actors and Indonesian Representatives.
Editor & Translator : Adi Pranadipa