Congratulations!: Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s Director General for Asia-Pacific and African Affairs T.M. Hamzah Thayeb (right) congratulates Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia Ibrahim Baba Mai-Sule during a colorful reception to celebrate Nigeria’s National Day at the Gran Melia Hotel in Jakarta, on Friday. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
The Nigerian community in Indonesia celebrated its 49th Independence Day anniversary in a festive atmosphere Friday at the Gran Melia Hotel in Jakarta.
Nigerian Independence Day actually fell on Thursday, but the colorful reception was pushed back to Friday. The Embassy organized a seminar on investment potentials in Nigeria at the same hotel on Thursday.
The hotel ballroom looked like a little Nigeria, as most Nigerian guests wore colorful traditional dresses. Everybody was in a joyous mood, and there was a special Nigerian food corner and free flow of drinks.
Nigerian Ambassador to Indonesia Ibrahim Baba Mai-Sule personally welcomed the guests, most of whom were prominent members of the local Nigerian community, senior government officials, businesspeople, Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto and the Foreign Ministry's director general for Asia-Pacific and African Affairs, T.M. Hamzah Thayeb, as well as members of the diplomatic community.
Around 2,000 Nigerians, mostly businesspeople, professionals and soccer players, live in Indonesia.
Ambassador Mai-Sule praised the relations between Indonesia and Nigeria.
"We have close relations with Indonesia. Our relations are growing rapidly," Mai-Sule said.
To everybody's surprise, especially at a time of global financial crisis, with most countries' trade with Indonesia recording a sharp decline in the first six months of the year, trade figures with Nigeria had bucked the trend.
Two-way trade surged to US$472.98 million in the first six months of the year, a 91.12 percent increase from the $247.48 million recorded during the same period last year.
More than 12 Indonesian companies have operations in Nigeria, which has been recovering rapidly from the global financial crisis, thanks to several economic reforms launched by President Umaru Musa Yaradua.
