Page 20 - Inzist Special Edition

STRINGS

OF FRIENDS

Grounded on Indonesia’s long-time commitment to contribute in various discussions in
regional and multilateral forum, the Embassy of Indonesia in Wellington has been actively
promoting partnerships with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and with member countries
of regional organizations in the Pacific.

I am extremely proud to be part of the tight kinship through the ASEAN Committee in
Wellington (ACW) consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Viet Nam. The committee laid the foundation in the efforts to deepen cooperation with
New Zealand, a longstanding Dialogue Partner of the association. ASEAN is New Zealand’s
3rd biggest trading partner with trade valued at more than NZ$ 17.7 billion in June 2021.

Prime Minister Hon. Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly expressed the importance of ASEAN
for New Zealand. In July 2021, she said that the member states of ASEAN are rapidly
growing with a combined population of 650 million mostly are young generation and a
rapidly expanding middle class. And only last month, Foreign Minister Hon. Nanaia Mahuta
was in Jakarta and on numerous occasions stressing the increasingly strategic
importance of ASEAN for New Zealand.

It is also worth noting that ASEAN-NZ people-to-people connections is very encouraging ASEAN Heads of Mission in Wellington
with nearly 100,000 people from ASEAN countries residing in New Zealand or about 2% of
the country’s population. ASEAN is New Zealand's 3rd largest source of new migrants.
Interestingly, a great number of Southeast Asian are also fellow Austronesians meaning
that they share kinship with the Māori people and the Pasifika.

As a country with the largest population of Melanesian and Polynesian, and as a Dialogue
Partner of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and an Associate Member of the Melanesian
Spearhead Group (MSG), it is only natural that Indonesia’s engagement in the Pacific
continues to grow. Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
Heads of Mission in Wellington
To have a strong friendships and cooperation with the Pacific Heads of Missions in
Wellington has been one of the highlights of my time here. To have the invaluable support
of fellow Pacific countries for the Pacific Expositions has been hugely encouraging. It
reflects our commitment as we strive for wider market access and bring about prosperity
to the people in the region.

Beyond the region-based partnerships, Indonesia also plays an important role in the OIC. I
have attended and personally involved in various OIC-led initiatives over the years. The
significant number of Muslim communities that Indonesia has in New Zealand has been an
integral part in the engagement with The Federation of Islamic Associations of New
Zealand (FIANZ). Pacific Heads of Missions in Wellington

These strings of friends are strong bases for a sustainable and fruitful cooperation. Going
forward, I am certain Indonesia in Wellington will continue to take the same path and keep
on elevating its contributions.