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akarta: During the celebration of Italy’s National Day in South Jakarta on Thursday, Italian Ambassador to Indonesia Federico Failla gave three Indonesians awards from the Italian government for their work in improving ties between Indonesia and Italy.

The first recipient was Adisatrya Suryo Sulisto, a House of Representatives’ Commission VI lawmaker. He was awarded the Ordine della Stella d’Italia classe Ufficiale for his “commitment to contributing to the enhancement of the relations between Italy and Indonesia”.

Next was Rina Ciputra Sastrawinata, an artist who often collaborates with the Italian Embassy in increasing cultural cooperation between Indonesia and Italy. She was honored with the Ordine della Stella d’Italia classe Cavaliere.

The third was Arwin Rasyid, president director of CIMB Niaga Bank; one of the country’s most prominent bankers. Rasyid, who was born in Rome, was given the same award as Rina.

Relations between Italy and Indonesia have been “successful”, particularly in 2011, according to the Italian Embassy’s counselor and deputy head of mission, Mario Alberto Bartoli, with business reportedly showing “many expressions of interest” regarding industries; such as automotive, oil, food, luxury goods and machinery.

“Asia is, of course, a target [of Italian trade], but within Asia, Indonesia is the market that Italian companies are looking at,” Bartoli told The Jakarta Post. (png)