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ndonesia this week shared the spotlight with Salman Rushdie, author of the novel Satanic Verses, which prompted the Iranian government to issue a fatwa against Rushdie in 1989, at the Frankfurt Book Festival, the largest annual gathering of its kind and the most prestigious.

While Rushdie made only a brief appearance, less than an hour at a press conference on the opening day, Indonesia, with its beautifully decorated pavilion, will stay until closing day on Sunday, as will the dozens of writers whose books are featured at the fair.

Indonesia is this year'€™s guest of honor at Frankfurt Buchmesse 2015. The huge Messe, or convention center complex where the fair is being held, has many banners and signs posted highlighting Indonesia'€™s presence, with the tagline '€œ17,000 Islands of Imagination'€.

Many in the Indonesian literary world agree that this week'€™s event in Frankfurt is a coming out party for Indonesian writers, a rare opportunity to reach out to global readers. Their books have been translated mostly into English but some also into German, and one or two immediately enjoyed raved reviews they never dreamed about.

Three authors stand out in particular: Leila Chudori with her Pulang (Home), Laksmi Pamuntjak with Amba (The Question of Red) and Eka Kurniawan with Cantik Itu Luka (Beauty is a Wound). They will each have sessions to meet readers during the fair.

No one can say that Indonesia lacks the imagination to be able to produce literary works of global standards. Certainly not after Frankfurt. They just have never had the access. Handled properly, this could be a milestone and a badly needed boost for the Indonesian literary world in taking the world stage.

Which is why the absence of President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo is most regrettable, even unforgivable.

His minders must have lacked the imagination to understand what his presence would have meant for Indonesian literature. The official excuses for his absence, that he will be traveling to the US in October or that he will be making a trip to Europe in December anyway, are just unacceptable.

This is the Frankfurt Book Fair, the one and only. It can hardly be compared with the President'€™s official visit to other countries or a visit to Germany any other time.

Being invited as a guest of honor is literally an honor, simply because of the scale of the fair, and the impact it would have on the country'€™s literary world and image.

No country gets invited twice.

'€œIt'€™s the first and last opportunity for Indonesia to get a stage of this scale,'€ said Goenawan Mohamad, founder of Tempo magazine and head of the National Committee for the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The Indonesian literary world is already looking beyond Frankfurt to capitalize on the momentum. Besides invigorating writers and publishers, the fair shows the importance and value of the work of translators. Almost all Indonesians write in the Indonesian language, so to reach out to international readers, someone must translate their works.

For Frankfurt, Goenawan'€™s team had set a target of translating 300 titles into English and German. Bureaucratic delays, mostly with the government haggling over translation fees, meant that the team managed barely half of the target.

Leila, Laksmi, Eka and a few others are joining the late Pramudya Ananta Toer among Indonesian writers with international recognition.

If Belarus, with a population of less than one million, can produce a Nobel prize in literature this year through Svetlana Alexievich, it should only be a matter of time for someone from Indonesia, with a population of over 250 million, to win the prestigious prize.

More than literature, Indonesia'€™s presence in Frankfurt also promotes Indonesia'€™s image, which is good for tourism and foreign investment. As Jan van der Putten, the Indonesianist from Hamburg University, puts it, '€œwriters like Goenawan Mohamad and others are the best people to talk about and to promote Indonesia'€.

Which is all the more reason why Jokowi, who has been working hard to attract foreign investment, has missed a big chance to give his presidential seal of approval.

No offense meant to Education and Culture Minister Anies Baswedan, who represented the Indonesian government at the fair'€™s opening. He was as articulate as ever in his speech, and given his background as a former university rector, no one can doubt his concern for the future of Indonesia'€™s literary world.

But if Jokowi'€™s presence in Frankfurt would have sent out a strong signal of his government'€™s support for the literary world, his absence could be construed as his indifference.

The President can still make good on his failure by personally welcoming and thanking the team and the writers upon their return home from Frankfurt next week, and by pledging support for the literary world.

He could go one further and make a reality of the plan to set up a more permanent translation fund.
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The writer is senior editor of The Jakarta Post.