Canada, Indonesia celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations

The Canadian Embassy hosted on Wednesday the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Canada-Indonesia diplomatic relations at the Canadian ambassador’s official residence in Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta.

"Canada and Indonesia have strong and longstanding ties in various areas from development, trade and investment to collaboration on human rights and religious freedoms – 60 years is a long time. This partnership continues to grow in stature and depth," Canadian Ambassador to Jakarta Mackenzie Clugston said in his opening remarks.

"Indonesia has been the largest Canada export market in the Southeast Asian region and is home to a considerable amount of Canadian direct investments.”

The event, which was attended by Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, friends and partners of Canada in Indonesia, including government officials, business representatives and civil society, marked the launch of a series of activities, including events in Sulawesi this month and an international conference on multiculturalism in Jakarta in March.

Natalegawa said that the bilateral relations between the two countries had developed in a significant bilateral dimension.

“The trade figures between the two countries over the past five years have grown on average around 8 percent every year and the figure for last year was especially robust, where we enjoyed an increase of some 65 percent in our trade figures," Natalegawa said.

During the event, Clugston and Natalegawa also unveiled the 60th Anniversary logo, which was designed by Widi Purtanto, a fourth-semester student in the Digital Media Design program of Lasalle College International in Jakarta.

Total trade between the two countries reached C$2.87 billion (US$2.87 billion) in the first 11 months of 2011. This represents a 41 percent increase over 2010, when total trade reached C$2.03 billion.
Canadian exports to Indonesia include wheat, fertilizers and wood pulp. Indonesian exports to Canada include rubber, machinery and apparel. (nvn)

Source http://www.thejakartapost.com/ accessed on Februari 2nd 2012