Zubair Qureshi
Very few ambassadors and diplomats enjoy the distinction of being equally popular with their own nationals, the host government as well as the people of the country they are posted in and Ambassador of Indonesia Iwan Suyudhie Amri is amongst those handful.
After serving for four years and five months in Pakistan, he is now leaving the country sometime next month. The outgoing Ambassador hosted a farewell lunch in honour of the media persons at the embassy on Tuesday.
This was perhaps the first ‘post-corona’ lunch party in months organized within the Diplomatic Enclave and the ambassador was joined by senior journalists of electronic and print media (majority of them happened to enjoy close friendly terms with the ambassador) and they wished the ambassador all the best in life and success and prosperity for the days come.
DHM Embassy of Indonesia, Andi Ahmad Bastari, cultural & press counselor Denny Tri Basuki and the staff of the embassy were also there to express their gratitude and love to the envoy.
The ambassador quoted President Arif Alvi who during a farewell call-on said to him, ‘You would be now ambassador of Pakistan in Indonesia.’The president’s words are a compliment for me and I will love to play my role in boosting bilateral relations between the two countries even after retirement, said the ambassador.
He said he would be leaving on Sept 10 and his successor will be joining the mission sometime in November.
Indonesia’s Deputy Ambassador in the UK Adam Mulawarman has been named as new Ambassador to Pakistan and Ambassador Amri hoped his successor would carry forward the legacy of friendship and cordial relations between Indonesia and Pakistan in the best professional way.
I know my successor and he has served in a number of European countries and the US too doing his job quite well, said Amri.
Ambassador Amri too has made great efforts in enhancing bilateral trade between the two countries and during his term the bilateral trade volume saw a whopping increase of US$ 1 billion that is a landmark achievement. Besides, Indonesian embassy worked extensively with various chambers of commerce & industries of Pakistan to establish trade ties between the two countries. In education, whereas a large number of the Pakistani students are enrolled in various Indonesian universities, the number of the Indonesian youths taking admission in the Pakistani universities is also increasing and even the Indonesian female students prefer the Pakistani educational institutions for higher professional degrees.
“My job as diplomat is to promote bilateral relations with Pakistan and to bring the two nations closer and as the 20th ambassador of Indonesia I tried my best to do this,” said the ambassador.
The ambassador said he had deep regard for the Pakistani media persons and enjoyed very good relations with them. Journalists are the ones that give you the true picture of the economy, progress, strengths and weaknesses of a nation. Through you people I kept myself aware of what is happening around and in any democratic country, the media plays a vital role in showing a true picture. The ambassador summed up his speech saying he would remain in touch with Pakistani friends and would love to hear from them.
