Ambassador of Indonesia to Kuwait, H.E. Lena Maryana, described Kuwait as “a central player and the oldest democracy in the region,” pointing out that both Kuwait and Indonesia have similar goals for building and maintaining stability in international relations.
The ambassador made these remarks in the presence of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Mazen Al-Nahedh, as well as diplomats and special invitees attending a grand reception held at the Regency Hotel to mark the 77th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia.
Ambassador Maryana added, “Having this similar ambition, I am sure that it will be beneficial for both Indonesia and Kuwait to expand cooperation beyond the bilateral sphere and provide continuous support to each other in global forums, pointing to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kuwait and Indonesia 54 years ago, more specifically on 28 February, 1968.
She added, “Indonesia is home to more than 275 million people, the fourth most populous country in the world, and the largest archipelagic country in the world, with more than 17,000 islands. The envoy also revealed that her country will be hosting the G20 summit on the island of Bali from 15-16 November, and will become the president of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, and will seize this opportunity to further promote peace and stability in the world and the region.
She pointed out that Indonesia became independent 77 years ago, and at that time was facing many challenges in the form of colonialism and imperialism. “Today, we’ve seen challenges that are much different. We are facing global pandemic, climate change, world hunger, and arms conflicts that have caused security, food, energy, and economic crisis.
“Despite these challenges and crises, Indonesia has proven to be one of the strongest nations to maintain its economic resilience with only 4.9 percent inflation, far below the average of countries in the region that have around 7 percent inflation.”
She also pointed out that in the third-quarter of 2022, the country’s GDP showed a positive growth of 5.4 percent, and that at the current pace, Indonesia is projected to be the sixth largest economy in the world by 2040.