National celebration: Belarusian Ambassador to Indonesia Vladimir Lopato-Zagorsky (center) cuts a cake together with Culture and Education Minister Muhajir Effendy (right) during a reception in celebration of Belarus National Day in Jakarta, on Wednesday
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Belarus and Indonesia may be strange bedfellows, but the envoy from the eastern European country is determined that both countries build even closer relations in the future.
“We can enrich each other. There are many things that we can learn from Indonesia. Hopefully, there are certain things that we can share with Indonesia as well,” the Belarussian mbassador to Jakarta, Vladimir Lopato-Zagorsky, told The Jakarta Post during a reception to commemorate Belarussian National Day on Wednesday evening.
“We both share the philosophy of ‘consistent’ [hard work] in our efforts to reach any goal. Hopefully this will lead us to better cooperation in the future,”
Lopato-Zagorsky said, adding that both Belarus and Indonesia enjoyed very productive bilateral ties and he would “spare no occasion or means to reinforce Indonesia-Belarus cooperation”.
“We are a trusted partner of Indonesia,” he added.
In March 2013, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made a state visit to Jakarta and met then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“We need to continue exploring alternatives to continue our bilateral relations,” Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy said in his speech.
Belarus and Indonesia celebrated their 23rd anniversary of diplomatic relations in June. Diplomatic ties with Indonesia commenced shortly after Belarus gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
However, Jakarta has yet to have a mission in Minsk and all diplomatic interactions are conducted through the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow.
The main imports from Belarus to Indonesia include potash fertilizer and mining and agricultural equipment, as well as polyamides and caprolactam, essential components in the production of synthetic fabrics like nylon. Indonesia exports to Belarus a total of 200 commodities, including processed fish, palm and coconut oil, tobacco and natural rubber, but in far smaller proportions.
According to Indonesia’s Trade Ministry, the total volume of trade between the two countries increased by 13.4 percent since 2011. However, Belarus enjoys an overwhelming surplus in the balance of trade with Indonesia. Of all trade worth US$211.44 million, Belarus earns $210.92 million of it, 99.7 percent of the total.
More than 75 percent of Belarus’ imports, including gas, coal and oil, come from its neighbors Russia and the EU.
As Belarus produces more than 10 percent of the world’s heavy duty trucks, Indonesia can potentially increase exports to that country by providing rubber to manufacture tires for heavy duty mining vehicles.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla visited Minsk in April where he met Lukashenko. The two leaders set a “challenging, but so feasible” projected goal of $1 billion in trade turnover by 2018.
Notable dignitaries in attendance at the Belarussian National Day celebrations were Russian Ambassador Mikhail Galuzin, EU deputy head of mission to ASEAN Basil Constantine, United Nations resident coordinator Douglas Broderick, Italian Ambassador Vittorio Sandalli and Georgian Ambassador Zurab Aleksidze, to name a few.
— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
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