The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, during an interview with Khmer at the Embassy in Phnom Penh. KT/Yarn Soviet
In less than a year since his arrival in September last year, Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, has already begun putting in action what he has set out to do – Taking Cambodia-Indonesia ties to even greater levels.
Just upon his arrival in Cambodia in September last year, the Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, told Khmer Times in the first-ever media interview in the Kingdom that he has the ambitious goal of transforming Cambodia-Indonesian bilateral relations into one of the closest in the region through game-changing initiatives in multiple areas.
In 1956, Indonesia gave Cambodia recognition as a sovereign nation, and the following year, both nations established diplomatic relations in 1959. In recent history, Indonesia was a part of the Jakarta Informal Meetings, which led to the Paris Peace Conference, and there is also Indonesia’s presence in the UN Peacekeeping Operation in Cambodia. Indonesia was also among the first to support Cambodia’s membership in ASEAN. However, the two nations’ ties go back to ancient times, between the Khmer Empire, the Kingdom of Champa, and the Majapahit Empire.
Ambassador Darmosumarto was excited about his post even a few months before his tenure as the diplomatic representative began because he is looking forward to taking the Cambodia-Indonesia relationship to new levels, one that lies beyond the historical legacy built by King Father Norodom Sihanouk and President Sukarno, both the fathers of the independence of their respective nations.
After nearly a year of serving in the Kingdom, Ambassador Darmosumarto believes that his country and Cambodia are on a fast track to building one of the strongest alliances in the region.
“If I am to rate the progress, out of 10, I would like to think that we are in 7 or 8,” the Ambassador told Khmer Times in a recent exclusive interview.
“I don’t think we can achieve everything in 10 months, but everything is a process, and bringing our relationship to a whole new level is also a process. I am happy with the process, to which has also been responded positively from the Cambodian side. We will continue to work on this as we embark on the 65th anniversary of our bilateral diplomatic relations.”
After presenting his credentials to King Norodom Sihamoni on 18 October last year, Ambassador Darmosumarto has set a mission to meet with senior government officials, including Prime Minister Hun Manet, to discuss cooperation in potential sectors.
“The feedback has been very positive,” he remarked. “I think a lot of people have indicated that I have been active, but I believe that it is something that really needs to be done, and I hope to do that later on, for the remainder of my stay here in Cambodia.”
“It is important for us to meet various segments of society here in Cambodia, so I have met with government officials at the senior level as well as the technical level. At the same time, I also try to meet with other segments of society: academics, businesspeople, and even kindergarten students.”
The Ambassador has also held meetings with the Indonesian community in Cambodia, which, according to the embassy, consists of over a hundred thousand individuals.
“In our line of work, we also want to ensure that Indonesians living in Cambodia are living comfortably and being good neighbours to their hosts, the Cambodian people, to prevent a conflict,” he added.
“At the same time, we also assist them when they have problems, and of course, such systems require support from the Cambodian government.”
Meanwhile, the past months have witnessed numerous initiatives by the Indonesian Embassy aimed at giving back to Cambodian society and, at the same time, increasing mutual understanding between the two peoples. Some examples include the Indonesia Health Fest (IHF) in Sihanoukville in June, sponsoring the renovation of the Indonesia-Cambodia Friendship Primary and Secondary School in Prey Veng province, and the ASEAN Bazaar.
As Cambodians and Indonesians also share strong cultural ties and similarities, Ambassador Darmosumarto is also planning a joint cultural initiative. In early July, while meeting with Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona, he proposed a joint cultural event this year.
“We are keen to work with Cambodian stakeholders to further strengthen arts and culture ties between Indonesia and Cambodia as our two countries celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations this year,” he explained.
“A joint cultural event would showcase not only the rich cultures and traditions of Indonesia and Cambodia but also our capacity to work together in synergy for a better future.”
Meanwhile, he also called on more Indonesian citizens to visit Cambodia and enjoy the Kingdom’s famous sites, such as the Angkor Wat.
Pushing bilateral trade and forging economic alliances
Ambassador Darmosumarto has identified trade and economic cooperation as one of the pillars of Cambodia and Indonesia’s strategic partnership. He has expressed a notion that for a country as big as Indonesia that exports a lot of products around the world and for an economy like Cambodia, where there are so many people and investors now, there is a big room for economic cooperation.
Meanwhile, one of the potential products that he believes Cambodia can export to Indonesia is the delicious Cambodian rice.
“When I first came here in September, there was already indication that Indonesia would be importing rice from Cambodia,” the Ambassador said. A few moments later, Indonesia did import the first batch of rice from Cambodia, about 15,000 tonnes at that time. This year, we have already imported more rice from Cambodia than last year.”
However, he claimed that the cooperation needed to go beyond the trade of rice.
“We need to see whether or not Cambodia and Indonesia can work closer when it comes to the more general issue of enhancing food security both in Cambodia and Indonesia,” he added.
Ambassador Darmosumarto said his target is to attract more Indonesian companies to invest in Cambodia. He has seen potential areas such as energy, pharmaceuticals, mechanics, and so on.
“There are a number of Indonesian companies here in Cambodia, but we haven’t seen some of the larger companies,” he explained. We are talking with some of the larger conglomerates, and hopefully, they will see the opportunities here.”
He added that the past two years have proven that the bilateral ties between Cambodia and Indonesia are now in a favourable condition, and the process of elevating the relation appears to be on a smooth path.
“Of course, it also relies on how we can take advantage of this cooperation,” he said. “As government officials and the governments, all we can do is create the policy to ensure that the door and gates between the two countries stay open and people continue to explore.”
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