While Azerbaijan might not be well known among many Indonesians, the people of the energy-rich country in the South Caucasus are with Indonesian culture, language and cuisine, as well as its traditional martial art, pencak silat.

But why is Indonesia gaining such widespread popularity in Azerbaijan?

This is due in part to the aggressive campaign launched by the Indonesian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Husnan Bey Fananie, which aims to introduce Indonesia to the people of Azerbaijan through culture, education and trade.

“Azerbaijanis like Indonesia very much. They are learning our pencak silat, the Indonesian language and culture. They have a special affection for us,” Ambassador Husnan told The Jakarta Post in Baku recently.

According to Husnan, a noncareer diplomat and a former legislator from the United Development Party, there are 4,000 Azerbaijanis currently learning pencak silat in Baku and other major cities in the country.

“Two Azerbaijanis — Abbas Hunbatov and Jeyhun Ashrafov — have been promoting pencak silat in Azerbaijan for many years. The response from Azerbaijanis is unbelievable. I encouraged them and extended full support from the embassy,” he added.

Pencak silat debuted at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 1987 and at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang. Just last year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed pencak silat as a world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

“Traditionally, Azerbaijani people enjoy sports like boxing, wrestling, judo and karate. That’s why we like Indonesia’s pencak silat,” student Rauf Hussenov told the Post in Baku.

Surprisingly, the people of Azerbaijan also appear to like learning the Indonesian language, which was first introduced to the country by Azerbaijani professor Habib Zerbaliyev, who had studied the language in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Habib and his family were behind the establishment of the Indonesian language department at the Azerbaijan University of Languages in Baku. Azerbaijani students are learning Indonesian at home and in Indonesia.

“The enthusiasm is always high among Azerbaijani students to learn about Indonesia and its culture. I have personally given lectures about Indonesia at almost all Azerbaijani universities. I also taught at the Azerbaijan University of Languages,” said Husnan, who has been awarded with an honorary professorship from the university for promoting educational and cultural exchange between the two countries.

Husnan himself is well-known in Azerbaijan, and has become one of the country’s more popular foreign ambassadors in less than four years, earning accolades from several institutions.

Outside education and culture, another factor has tied a close bond between the two countries: Indonesia strongly supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as regards its small neighbor, Armenia, which currently occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory.

“We thank Indonesia for its support for Azerbaijan. We have excellent relations with Indonesia, and we work together closely in many fields,” Azerbaijan Ambassador to Indonesia Jalal Mirzayev said recently.

When he first arrived in Azerbaijan in 2016, Husnan recognized the huge potential of Azerbaijan.

Husnan has been organizing the Indonesian Cultural Festival (ICF) in Baku since 2016 to promote Indonesia.

“The ICF has been a huge success in Azerbaijan. Thousands of Azerbaijanis come to see our cultural performances, taste our cuisine and buy our products. As a result, our furniture, coffee, batik, paper and vegetable oils have already entered the Azerbaijani market,” he said.

Local media reported that around 10,000 Azerbaijanis attended the festival in 2017, while the festival saw more than 25,000 visitors in 2018. The ICF was organized at two different places in 2019, attracting more people than in 2018. The figures are amazing feats, given that just 1.1 million of the 10.1 million people of Azerbaijan live in Baku.

In terms of trade, Husnan has brought many Indonesian businesspeople to Baku to promote their products. Until recently, Indonesia bought more than US$1 billion worth of crude oil from Azerbaijan every year, reaching more than $2.5 billion in some years.

“Azerbaijan has the finest sweet crude oil in the world,” Husnan said.

Indonesia racked up a big trade deficit with Azerbaijan for purchasing huge quantities of crude oil, but thanks to Husnan’s efforts, many Indonesian products are now traded in Azerbaijan.

“We have increased our exports to Azerbaijan significantly during the last three years,” he said.

According to data from the Azerbaijan State Customs Committee, Indonesia’s exports to Azerbaijan surged to $46.09 million in 2016, more than double its exports of $19.91 million in 2015. By 2017, Indonesian exports had reached $49.29 million and increased yet again to $55.79 million in 2018, making Azerbaijan the country’s biggest export destination in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan also has big tourism potential for Indonesia. Last year, 5.51 million Azerbaijanis — more than half the population — traveled abroad, with Bali rapidly becoming the top destination among Azerbaijani tourists.

“Last year, I visited Bali with my family. We liked it very much. I hope we can visit other places in the future,” Ruksana Farazova, a teacher, told the Post.

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