Jakarta: The envoy for the Kingdom told Arab News that Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have limitless potential and can capitalise on their long-standing momentum to forge a strategic alliance.
Given that Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population in the world and Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, the two nations have long had a close human relationship.
The largest economies in the Middle East are Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, both of which are significant global players.
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With the visits of King Salman in 2017 and President Joko Widodo in 2019, the two countries' relations rose to new heights. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman travelled to Indonesia to attend the G20 leadership summit last year, when Indonesia was in charge of the group's 20 largest economies.
According to the Saudi ambassador to Indonesia, Faisal Abdullah Amodi, the high-level meetings have been a "big sign" that both nations want to strengthen their relationship.
In an interview with Arab News at the Saudi Embassy in Jakarta, Amodi stated that both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have limitless potential.
"We already have a strong brotherhood; our relationship dates back decades. But in order to improve our relationships across all fields, we must elevate and promote it. To elevate bilateral relations to a strategic level, more and more constructive efforts are required.
The "harmony" between the ongoing efforts in both countries to implement their strategic frameworks—the Saudi Vision 2030 transformation plan and the Indonesian Vision 2045 to become one of the world's top five economies—was seen by Amodi, who presented his credentials to the Indonesian president in February, as an enabling factor for fostering bilateral relations.
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The ambassador stated, "I think this is a historical time for both countries to improve relations, especially with regard to the economy and investment."
While the Hajj and Umrah have traditionally been the focus of bilateral relations because Indonesia, with 270 million people, sends the largest numbers of pilgrims to the Kingdom each year, there have recently been discussions to examine untapped potentials in trade and tourism as well.
Although Umrah and Hajj are still "very important for our relations," according to Amodi, there are many other ways to fortify ties.
An effort has already been made; earlier this year, Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan led a special delegation to Riyadh to explore import and export possibilities, and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno presented fresh ideas to entice more Saudi tourists to visit as well as Indonesians to sell their creative economy goods in the country.
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We are already coordinating and setting up a meeting between the two sides at the Saudi Embassy here," Amodi said. "Our potential for investment, trade, tourism, and the creative economy is limitless."