Officials at the National Day reception.
The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Doha marked the 71th Independence and National Day, recently.
The event which saw the participation of Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi, Minister of Municipality and Environment; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi; H E Ibrahim Yousif Fachroo, Director Protocol and Sheikh Faisal Al Thani along with some 300 guests consisting of ambassadors, diplomats, Qatari government officials and members of the Qatari civil society also commemorated the Anniversary of Anniversary of 40th Diplomatic Relation RI-Qatar.
“From a humble beginning, Indonesia, which gained independence on August 17, 1945, has now developed into one of the most robust economies in the world with a relatively steady economic growth of about four to five percent in the last three years,” said Muhammad Basri Sidehabi, Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar.
He also expressed satisfaction at the ever expanding bilateral relation between Indonesia and Qatar.
The reception also promoted an array of activities organised by the Indonesian Community in Qatar (Permiqa) led by Edwin Kurniawan. Celebration showcased a colorful cultural show, and food festival. The festival showcased most delicious select dishes from tropical Indonesia, traditional dances, and soothing music of bamboo Angklung music. The guests were welcomed by Gendang Tari Palembang dance. The event unfolded Indonesian cultural and traditional diversity before the guests.
“This is the perfect way of promoting Indonesia and tourism to the country that has some of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The embassy is taking lot of measures to promote Indonesian tourism through such cultural activities. We are the largest Muslim country, population-wise, in the world and the 16th most powerful economy. We have become the member of G-20. We are also the member of 1 trillion dollar club,” said the ambassador, hoping there would be more business cooperation between Indonesia and Qatar.
All traditional dances and Angklung bamboo music performances were done by the Qatar Indonesian Angklunger (QIA). They play major role in promoting Indonesian Cultural Festival and won many awards from various international competition festival in Qatar. The group comprise of spouses of the Indonesian expatriates mostly working in the oil and gas sector and they regularly practice such cultural forms at the Indonesian embassy.
