I have no doubt that should nasi goreng come to Kazakhstan, it will be a big hit. After all, we love our food as well, and our dishes range from meat dishes such as beshbarmak to rice dishes such as pilaf. These are dishes that we are also eager to share with our Indonesian friends.

Indeed, food is one of the many and growing areas that both Indonesia and Kazakhstan can both enjoy and benefit from.

Kazakhstan and Indonesia share many similarities. We are each the largest countries and economies in our respective regions, with multi-ethnic and multi-religious populations. Our relations have been growing steadily since they were established in 1993, and there is even more potential over the next few years in areas such as trade and investments.

Trade between both countries has been on a steady rise over the past few years. Bilateral trade reached US$370 million in 2019, a 2.5 time increase from the year before.

We provide Indonesia with alloys such as ferrochrome, while Indonesia exports food products such as palm oil and coffee to us, as well as vehicles, textile and electric equipment.

But there is scope to do more. Both countries are key links in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure project to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks.

Popular

Indonesia calls for more representative UN amid changing world order

Recentralization concerns in fiscal, education heighten

Twenty years on, BRICS faces a defining choice