Qatar-Indonesia ties going from strength to strength: envoy

 Indonesia’s ambassador to Qatar has underlined the strong bilateral relations between the two countries, on the occasion of Indonesia’s 77th Independence Day on Wednesday.

“Indonesia and Qatar have enjoyed excellent relations based on common faith and mutual interests,” ambassador Ridwan Hassan said. “Under the guidance of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and our President Joko Widodo, the relations have been strengthened and nurtured from time to time.”“The contact and exchange visits from various levels of leadership have cemented the solid bilateral relations in political, economic and social-cultural spheres,” the envoy said in a statement.Hassan stressed that the Indonesian embassy in Qatar will continue to promote and facilitate any effort to strengthen and deepen “our brotherly countries’ relations, including in people-to-people relationship”.He said that 2022 will be exciting for both countries: Qatar will host one of biggest – and the most-anticipated – sports event in the world, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Indonesia resumes its presidency of the G20 this year.The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place in Bali on November 15-16 under the theme *Recover Together, Recover Stronger. Highlighting the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on the different sectors of society and understanding the challenges and the need for collective action, Indonesia is set to focus on three main pillars for its G20 2022 presidency: Global Health Architecture, Sustainable Energy Transition, and Digital Transformation.Hassan said that 2022 is an essential milestone in the plan to relocate Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to Nusantara, which is situated between two regencies – Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kartanegara – in East Kalimantan province.This area of around 56,000 hectares, with a total development area of 256,000 hectares, is four times larger than Jakarta.About 75% of the site will be green space, meaning that Nusantara will become a forest city with the potential to absorb substantial carbon emissions.The envoy said that next year the two countries will celebrate and appreciate their cultural relations through a year-long “Qatar – Indonesia Year of Culture” programme.In a statement, the Indonesian Community in Qatar’s Cultural Art chief and Sanggar Seni Mesaieed (Mesaieed Cultural Club) head, Ika Ristiani, said: “As we commemorate the 77th Independence Day of the Republic Indonesia, we hope that we can share and contribute more to encourage our children to move on and to not hesitate when showing the beauty of Indonesia to the world.”“Indonesia has many ethnic groups with different languages, traditions, religions and beliefs,” he said. “We are rich in art and culture. However, we are one – one nation, one land and united by one language, Bahasa Indonesia.”Sanggar Seni Mesaieed was established in 2015 as Sanggar Tari Mesaieed (or Mesaieed Dance Club) and made its first performance in the internal Community of Qafco (Qatar Fertiliser Company) Indonesia (KOMIQ) events, and only comprised the children of Qafco employees.“We were doing our dance practice in Al Banush Club House, Mesaieed, under the management of Qafco, so it was not possible for us to accept children from other companies,” Ristiani said. “After receiving full support from Mesaieed International School, the club opened its membership to Indonesian children in Mesaieed.”In 2017, the club began offering traditional music, Angklung, one of Indonesia's traditional musical instruments for girls and boys.The club then changed its name to Sanggar Seni Mesaieed.