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African nations to use Africa Day to rejuvenate ties with RI
African embassies in Indonesia will jointly celebrate Africa Day next month in Jakarta with several events, including a gala reception, a friendly soccer match as well as fostering relationships with Indonesia, African diplomat says
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frican embassies in Indonesia will jointly celebrate Africa Day next month in Jakarta with several events, including a gala reception, a friendly soccer match as well as fostering relationships with Indonesia, African diplomat says.
'Africa Day is the most joyful day for all Africans. It also called Liberation Day. Indonesia had historical links to African liberation movements through 1955 Bandung Conference.
'Indonesia is a close friend of Africa. We would like to celebrate Africa Day with our Indonesian friends,' Sudan Ambassador to Indonesia Abd Al Rahim Al Siddig said at a press conference on Monday.
The ambassador said that African embassies would celebrate Africa Day on May 25 in Jakarta but as the day falls on a Saturday the celebration would likely be held either on May 23 or May 27.
'We are also planning a friendly soccer match against our Indonesian diplomats,' Siddig said.
Africa Day celebrates the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963. In July 2002, the OAU transformed into the African Union (AU) , which currently has 54 members.
Morocco, a North African country and one of the founders of the OAU, is not a member of the AU but Morocco maintains friendly relations with almost all African countries.
Indonesia, a close friend of Africa and one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, wants to revive old ties through new initiatives.
'We are currently actively focusing on Africa,' Foreign Ministry director of African affairs Lasro Simbolon told The Jakarta Post recently during a gathering of the Africa-Indonesia Press Association in Jakarta.
According to Siddig, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will visit Africa next month to forge a strong partnership with the AU.
'The Foreign Minister will address a gathering of African leaders in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa at the end of next month, coinciding with the Africa Day celebrations,' Siddig said.
The AU will be celebrating 50 years of the establishment of OAU this year. African leaders will gather on May 26 in Addis Ababa for their annual summit, which has a theme titled 'Pan Africanism and African Renaissance.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also recently visited the area, stopping in Egypt, Liberia and Nigeria.
Commenting on Sudan-Indonesia relations, Siddig said they were moving in the right direction.
'We had a close relationship even before our independence. We got the inspiration to declare independence in 1956 after our leaders attended the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung,' Siddig said.
Sudan, a North African country of vast arable land, wants to have close cooperation with Indonesia, especially in the agriculture sector.
'As we speak, the Agriculture Minister Suswono is currently in Sudan establishing cooperation in the agriculture sector. Both governments will sign a memorandum of understanding [MoU] in this regard [...] We are ready to give land to Indonesia to grow rice, oil palm and sugarcane,' Siddig said.
Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, Siddig said, is currently exploring oil in Sudan's Block 13.
'If Pertamina finds oil in Sudan, we will once again sell oil to Jakarta. The newly formed oil-rich country of South Sudan last week agreed to pump oil through the existing oil pipeline in Sudan. So trade would reach almost a billion dollars again,' Siddig said.
