As this year’s motto is “Pulih lebih Cepat, Bangkit lebih Kuat” which translates to “Recover faster, Recover Stronger”, I would like to take the opportunity to, on behalf of IndoCham, extend this wish to all businesses that have been affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
77 years ago, our founding father Sukarno won the fight from the colonialists and declared independence on 17 August 1945. Along with the founding members, we have been taught the fundamental principle of Indonesia’s independence, also known as Pancasila, and is inscribed in our national emblem, gripped by the Garuda’s claws “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”.
Exactly a year ago at the Independence Day ceremony, H.E. Sudirman Haseng, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Cambodia, suggested that we establish a chamber of commerce in Cambodia, which was how IndoCham was born. “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” was adopted by IndoCham as its guiding principles, and therefore the cornerstone of what we do is rooted in inclusiveness: business inclusivity, social-cultural inclusivity and community inclusivity.
IndoCham started with just 6 founding members, but it has now grown to more than 40 within just one year. Indonesia and Cambodia are currently trading at around USD 600 m per year, but almost no services are exported from and to Indonesia. We hope that through IndoCham, we can help to improve the bilateral economic and trade relationship between Cambodia and Indonesia.
IndoCham has recently established a strong relationship with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jakarta, or also known as KADIN, and has received strong support from them which was a big boost to our plans and initiatives. Earlier this month, I led a scoping visit to Jakarta to meet with members of the KADIN’s Vietnam-Cambodia Bilateral Committee to explore the possibility of mounting a business delegation visit to Jakarta, and having an in-country seminar there. We discussed many potential fields of interest that could benefit both countries. We also realized that it is timely and important to raise awareness of Cambodia and its potential and opportunities amongst the Indonesian business community, as their perception and perspective of the Kingdom are very outdated. This was similar to the impression that the group of businessmen bikers from Indonesia had, when I met them during their stopover in Siem Reap last month during their road trip from Malaysia to Vietnam. Moving forward, we hope to organize more events to familiarize the businessmen and investors of both countries with Cambodia and Indonesia.
Last but not least, on this special occasion, on behalf of IndoCham’s members, I would like to send our best wishes to our Ambassador, H.E. Sudirman Haseng and all members of the Embassy of Indonesia in the Kingdom of Cambodia for their tireless service to provide us a Home in our host country.
Dalton Wong,
President IndoCham
Comments